Oh, it's '07! What do you have planned?

Festivity planning for New Years Eve has always been head-bangingly hard. Now, especially so, because options are just so, so dear and you begin to wonder if you will have to settle for Revenge of the Sith on Star Movies instead.

But it's hard to convert to the good sense of that eventual resignation. Silly and imprudent it may be to spend so much (time and money) on one night of stock revelry, but everybody likes to say they've been somewhere, so stoke your whims and peruse these options.

Where there are extravaganzas, there will be themes... JW Marriott got to 007 first. Not much besides the nomenclature of the event suggests sleuth activity or implausible car chases but they are playing the numbers game "" nine party zones, 12 bars, three DJs, four bands and... item "number" Mallika Sherawat. All for Rs 18,000 a couple.

That's competition for the Pirates of the Arabian shindig at Grand Hyatt that, for the same price, invites you to grab a hook and peg-leg and pillage its wares. For the same price they're offering three levels of action and private tents (?). Tzar Bar at the Intercontinental on Marine Drive is hosting a "Miami" night for Rs 7,000 per couple.

Indian booze and circulating snacks are the norm, and Rs 3000-5000 per head the floating standard. Few offers deviate enough to pique interest. Some attempt to.

Bandra chic joint Seijo and the Soul Dish will have local funny-man Ash Chandler keep the troops entertained with his song and stand-up jocularity. Renaissance Hotel Powai is hoping to net crowds with the promise of good music... different genres for different folks, ghazals in one area, Pakistani band strings in another and Indian-English DJ Bobby Friction in the third.

The prize for most democratic party of the year goes to the Nokia's New Years Eve party, a music event that will be held simultaenously across five "party cities" around the world. Performing in Mumbai will be Nelly Furtado. And tickets are going, in many cases, gratis.

With the nightclubs it's a case of same old. Vie on Juhu Beach, for Rs 3000 a head, will rake in the suburb's starlets and producers with their Bollywood/bhangra groove. Tetsuma, the latest sushi-apportioning addition to the city's nightlife, will open doors between its dining room and neighbouring nightclub Prive for Rs 6,000 a head.

Zenzi, in Bandra, is doing things differently, offering a six-course menu at Rs 1,500...no promises of super-hit DJ or celebrity entertainment, just the comfort of knowing that you'll be at a venue that's always a great hang-out.

Of course, the really smart ones are sipping feni composites on Goa's Anjuna beach by this time, but for Rs 5,000 you can play Pretend Goa at Mumbai's seaside bar boast "" Salt Water Grill. Swap the high heels for flip-flops as the restaurant will be opened to the beach "" high tide (and bureaucracy) permitting "" where a bonfire will be blazing and the arbecue roasting.

The particularly charmed ones, of course, are waiting, Louis Vuitton cases in tow, to be air-lifted to the Kingfisher Villa in Goa where Mallya, once again, will play the role of the host with the most, to perfection. Now, there's some good times...