Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Dishoom restaurant plans 'experiential entertainment' at new venue

By Lauren Codling

AN IMMERSIVE theatre production will be held at a new London restaurant to celebrate the opening of its sixth eatery.


Inspired by the art deco world in 1940s Bombay, Night at the Bombay Roxy will be performed at Dishoom Kensington to mark the restaurant’s launch.

The show centres around the Bombay Roxy, a café and jazz club housed within a former 1940s Bombay cinema.

Audiences will be treated to performances by a live five-piece jazz band, as well as enjoy an array of Indian dishes, including spicy lamb chops, masala prawns and the Dishoom calamari.

Shamil Thakrar, co-owner of Dishoom and creative producer of the show, said the story initially came to him after reading Taj Mahal Foxtrot by Indian journalist Naresh Fernandes.

The book tells the story of Bombay’s jazz age. “I fell in love with this book,” Thakrar said, as he showed Eastern Eye his wellthumbed copy, adorned with post-it notes and highlights.

“We decided this should basically be the restaurant of this book.” The concept came to the businessman when he imagined how fun it would be if restaurant goers “literally walked into the story”.

That was when he approached the show’s director Eduard Lewis who introduced him to Swamp Studios, a theatre group based in London.

“We asked, ‘why don’t you come to the opening night of the show, but why don’t you come to the opening night of [the main character] Cyrus’s club in 1949’ and that is what will happen,” Thakrar explained. “It will be a really fun way to tell our story but to also feed people beautiful food and have this fantastic environment.”

Swamp Studios co-founder Ollie Jones, 29, confessed to Eastern Eye that one challenge of creating the show was making sure it complemented the food, rather than “getting in the way”.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations [about making sure] the meals are not interrupted,” he said. “We didn’t want people trying to enjoy food and talk to friends but constantly have actors looming over the table saying, ‘welcome to Bombay’. So trying to work around that and avoid that was important.”

Thakrar, who confessed to having a passion for jazz, said that although the combination of theatre and music is part of British heritage, he believes that experiential entertainment is the latest trend for millennials.

“Experiences make you happy, stuff doesn’t, and millennials know that,” Thakrar said. “They travel and do these cool things and buy less stuff and that is manifesting in the entertainment industry.”

Jones shared the same view, saying millennials are the “experience generation”.

“It’s true, we have seen a spike in [this kind of thing],” he said. “There is a lot of immersive, experiential stuff going on all the time. People love it and they get such a kick out of it.”

The Dishoom brand has a strong focus on a narrative for each space. Thakrar said that with each restaurant comes a new story and this is one is no different.

When discussing Swamp Studios’ collaboration with the eatery, Jones said he wanted to make sure the show did not dominate the restaurant.

He said: “I don’t think our contribution should go much beyond giving people a good time [and] enhancing their evening. It isn’t about us giving Dishoom anything – it is more us and Dishoom giving the customer something.”

Thakrar agreed, saying although the move could be “highly risky”, he was confident the concept was going to be “cool”.

“You are literally walking into a story,” he said, smiling. “We want to welcome you into our story and make sure you have a fantastic time.

“If you leave saying ‘my God, I’ve never had that kind of experience,” that will be amazing for us.”

Night at the Bombay Roxy will be playing at Dishoom Kensington from next Monday (27) until December 14.

More For You

HYBE Cine Fest 2025
HYBE Cine Fest 2025: How HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is India’s K-pop soft launch
Instagram/pvrpictures

HYBE Cine Fest 2025: BTS, TXT, and SEVENTEEN light up screens; here’s what it really means

You step into your local PVR today. The smell of popcorn hits you, but instead of previews for the latest Bollywood hit, the lobby is a sea of ARMY Bombs and CARAT Bong light sticks. Fans in TXT tees are swapping photocards. Someone’s already belting out a LE SSERAFIM chorus into a mic at the pop-up Noraebang station. Inside Screen 3? It isn’t a film, but a full-blown K-pop concert. Thousands of voices scream every word of BTS’s Dynamite, and tears well up during Jungkook’s solo. But this isn’t Seoul. It’s Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, all this weekend. And HYBE? They’re taking notes, big ones!

What is Hybe Cine fest?

HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is a three-day cinema event (from 10 to 12 July) that brings some of the biggest K-pop concert experiences to the big screen across India. Organised by South Korean entertainment giant HYBE in partnership with PVR INOX and Trafalgar Releasing, the fest features full-length concert films from BTS, SEVENTEEN, TXT, ENHYPEN, ILLIT, and Katseye. Expect stadium-level production with cinematic visuals, surround sound, and collective fan chants, everything fans love about a K-pop concert, recreated inside a cinema.

Keep ReadingShow less
Cierra Ortega

Cierra Ortega addresses her Love Island USA exit in a TikTok video

Instagram/cierra.ortega

Cierra Ortega apologises after Love Island USA exit over resurfaced racist post

Highlights

  • Cierra Ortega has exited Love Island USA after a past social media post using a slur resurfaced.
  • The 25-year-old content creator said she “had no idea” the word was a racial slur.
  • Ortega apologised to the Asian community and said she accepts being removed from the show.
  • She revealed her family has been threatened and immigration authorities were called on them.

Cierra Ortega, a contestant on this season of Love Island USA, has publicly apologised after an old social media post containing a racial slur resurfaced, prompting her sudden exit from the popular reality series.

The 25-year-old Los Angeles-based content creator addressed the controversy in a video, expressing regret for using a derogatory term towards Asian people in a post made last year. Ortega, who is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, said she was unaware of the word’s offensive meaning at the time but took full responsibility.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rashmika Mandanna joins Allu Arjun

Rashmika Mandanna teams up with Allu Arjun again in Atlee’s next

Getty Images/Youtube Screengrab/Sun Pictures

Rashmika Mandanna joins Allu Arjun and Deepika Padukone in Atlee's sci-fi spectacle 'AA22xA6'

Highlights:

 
     
  • Rashmika Mandanna to star opposite Allu Arjun in Atlee’s big-budget sci-fi project AA22xA6.
  •  
  • The film already features Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor, and Mrunal Thakur.
  •  
  • Rashmika has completed a look test and body scan in Los Angeles.
  •  
  • Film to release in multiple languages by late 2026 or early 2027.
  •  
 

Rashmika Mandanna is officially part of director Atlee’s highly ambitious sci-fi feature, tentatively titled AA22xA6. With Allu Arjun headlining the project, the casting of Rashmika not only reunites the Pushpa duo but also strengthens what is being called one of the biggest star ensembles in Indian cinema today. The Sun Pictures production already boasts names like Deepika Padukone, Janhvi Kapoor, and Mrunal Thakur, and now Rashmika’s addition has significantly heightened the buzz.

 Allu Arjun teams up with Atlee for 376 million sci-fi  Director Atlee and Allu Arjun brainstorm futuristic concepts with top Hollywood VFX studios in LA  Youtube Screengrab  

Keep ReadingShow less
Kajol

Kajol says star kids face harsher pressure as Ibrahim Ali Khan gears up for Sarzameen

Getty Images

Kajol defends Ibrahim Ali Khan amid trolling, says star kids today face a do or die reality

Highlights:

  • Kajol says today’s star kids face intense pressure to succeed immediately.
  • She compares their experience to her own, where she had time and space to evolve.
  • The actor is starring as Ibrahim Ali Khan’s mother in the upcoming film Sarzameen.
  • Kajol stresses the importance of reinvention and praises new actors for adapting beyond films.

Kajol believes the new generation of star kids in Bollywood are under far more pressure than actors from her era. The actress, who will soon be seen in Sarzameen alongside debutant Ibrahim Ali Khan, said young actors today are expected to prove themselves instantly, and harsh judgement follows if they don’t.

 Kajol  Kajol discusses star kids and the changing rules of BollywoodGetty Images

Keep ReadingShow less
Cardi B wears blooming 3D flowers

Cardi B continues her bold fashion streak with floral runway glamour

Instagram/rahulmishra_7

Cardi B stuns in a 3D floral Rahul Mishra gown at Paris Couture Week

Highlights:

  • Cardi B wore a ruby-red custom Rahul Mishra gown with sculptural 3D flowers at Paris Couture Week.
  • The outfit followed her earlier dramatic appearance at Schiaparelli in a fringe dress with a live crow.
  • She’s currently working on her debut album Am I the Drama? and a beauty venture with Revolve.
  • The look featured diamond accessories, a sculpted bun, and smoky makeup to match the theatrical dress.

Cardi B took her fashion game to new heights in Paris, stepping out in a dramatic Rahul Mishra creation that fused red carpet glamour with runway sculpture. The rapper’s custom-made gown, featuring 3D blooming flowers and a shimmering ruby base, was a highlight at Paris Haute Couture Week, making it one of her most talked-about looks this season.

 Cardi B wears blooming 3D flowers Cardi B's red gown features 3D sculpted flowers and intricate embroideryInstagram/rahulmishra_7

Keep ReadingShow less