How do you know that a trend has caught on? It’s when the lowest common denominator, namely us, starts following it. Recently, a friend had an after party for her birthday party which incidentally was at Delhi’s swanky nightclub The Love Hotel at Ai, owned by the man who probably single-handedly fanned the after-party culture in the capital, AD Singh. It was Singh’s and actor Arjun Rampal’s co-owned nightclub brand Lap, Rampal’s Chasing Ganesha along with Jaypee Sports International ( JPSI) that powered the F1 after parties, which took five months to plan. “Large sporting events have visitors from all over the world and good after parties offer a chance for everyone to let their hair down,” Singh explains the raison d’etre of after parties.
If F1 put India on the world map, the after parties showed that Indians can throw a mean party. Even Lady Gaga went a little gaga, tweeting her pic with Rampal and pal SRK. And everyone from Bollywood glam to fashion biggies to society majors walked the red carpet to the F1 after party. “It’s a status symbol to be part of the after-party guest list. While the event is open to everyone who can buy the tickets, the after party is an exclusive privilege. And that’s what makes them coveted,” says Harmeet Bajaj, director of Smokehouse Room, a new nightclub in Delhi by Impresario – a group where Bajaj partners with Shiv Karan Singh and Riyaz Amlaani.
Gatecrashers are always a big problem at such events. “One gentleman pretended he was Mark Weber (the F1 driver) to get in,” Singh says. The after-party culture started with fashion weeks. The fash frat has always been known for it’s proclivity to partying and when it became a business event, the need was felt for a forum to let their hair down. Bajaj says: “The week has a very formal format where you sit on benches and watch show after show. Designers felt the need to socialise informally.” And after party was born. Soon, IPL started its ‘infamous’ after-match parties and now every sport and society event has one, even wedding receptions.
The Guest List
Who’s invited is the single-most important factor about an after party. Bangalore-based image consultant and fashion choreographer Prasad Bidapa who managed the after-match parties – all 30 of them – for IPL4 along with DNA Networks, says the after-party culture feeds on the “we are a children few” mentality referring to the feeling of privilege it brings to be part of the A list. “It creates a feeling of endless excitement too,” he comments.
But most after-match parties during IPL drew a lot of flak for not giving time for the cricketers to rest. In fact, even MS Dhoni had commented that too many “after parties are taking a toll on our energy levels”. While South African cheerleader Gabriella Pasqualotto has another story about the energy levels. In her tell-all blog on behind the scenes at the IPL the 22-year-old had said that: “The music pumps, the drinks flow and the cricketers come and go… But the real fun happens in the VIP rooms where the players and night owls can cause scandal!” After parties by very nature are more risque.
“If sport meets glamour sparks will fly unless you grew up in a convent,” says Bidapa. But not only sparks but even liquor -and the best one at that – flies off the shelf. “An after party has to have the best of decor, food and definitely liquor to live up to its guest list,” says Utkarsh Bansal of P3party.com and organiser of a many farmhouse and private after parties in Delhi. Bansal has seen a literal 100% surge in the demand for an after party from the friendly BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) get togethers to the real heavyweight parties that require a velvet rope at the entrance. The high demands he has
noticed are for liquor, decor and now foreign hostesses.
We Like to Party
The unwritten rule for IPL parties is that the top stars need to show up. Reportedly, sponsors demand that stars turn up at least for a photo op and they do oblige. For smaller players of IPL, it’s a platform to network – after all, they also know that they won’t be getting an in into this world post the season. “After parties are the best networking platform there is. It’s the right mix of people – from fashion to films to bureaucrats and industrialists,” says Bajaj, enough contacts to fill your Rolodex.
The entertainment quotient at an after party is fairly minimal – maybe a ten-minute fashion show or a stand-up comedy routine. “It’s the whole feeling of living vicariously that this culture feeds on, it’s the same way I would read a piece on Maureen Wadia’s house,” Bidapa says and adds that an after party is now planned as a part of the whole event. It’s a media-created event which feeds the Page 3 and growing number of news and lifestyle TV. Bajaj says people have a guest list that’s divided into A lists, B lists and C lists. And everyone wants to be in the first one.
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / by Nupur Amarnath / ET Bureau / Nov 06th, 2011
