A Bollywood café-cum-lounge bar makes for an exciting concept - but, as in so many Bollywood films, where’s the content?
Bollywood and spicy Indian street food can be a potent mix, which is why it is a wonder that no one really thought of bringing the two together — before Chalchitra. A new restaurant-lounge in Delhi’s Greater Kailash II, Chalchitra (meaning ‘moving pictures’) was a concept waiting to happen. That’s the reason we are in an exceptionally bright and forgiving mood as we climb the narrow stairs adjoining Costa Coffee — and promptly get blinded by the red lights that illuminate the place, not to mention deafened by the blaring remixed dance numbers, courtesy a DJ. But then, Bollywood can be loud and overwhelmingly psychedelic.
The first impression is of kitsch. If you have a Manish Arora-like sensibility, this may be your kind of space. There are posters all around, produced by the restaurateurs themselves, that lampoon film titles and dialogues just as the menu does. Sholay, is of course, chhole. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson become Do Jasoos (Two Spies). Memorable one-liners are tweaked — so there’s “Kitne paranthe thhe?” There are also a few coffee-table books on Bollywood masquerading as décor. And on the walls, projections of popular films roll silently: Chupke Chupke is on when we visit. It’s a world full of college humour that one could almost like — but for the music.
And that’s where Chalchitra begins to falter. In a space peopled by not more than 10 people, screechy Bollywood numbers make conversation impossible — and it isn’t even Cinderella hour, when high-spirited Delhiites abandon their chairs to dance.
The menu cards are lovely, as kitschy as the décor. As for the fare, there are some sparkles in what’s otherwise an average affair. First, the highlights. The chicken tikka is seriously good — tender and succulent. There is a Parsi version of KFC-style fried chicken that is lovely. There is chaat masala sprinkled French fries to complement the desi spirits. The snack platter comes with salad and chutneys as also a ‘bowl’ fashioned out of a crisp papad, full of papad and peanut munchies — the kind that are always a success with Black Label-guzzling guests. There is a deliberate attempt at a mofussil tone to go with the Bollywood theme. And the star of the evening is the home-style khichda (with chicken!) that’s just right with a flavouring of ginger and green chillies.
Now for the lowlights. What, for heaven’s sake, is a French onion soup, and not a very good one either, doing on this mainly street-Indian menu? You can have a better version at Kwality’s. The Prawn Koliwada is a mockery of the real thing — it’s more like a pakora. Clearly, it is a fallacy to order anything ‘south Indian’ here — the fare is so inauthentic. A Chettinad-style prawn dish teamed with lemon rice has too much masala drowning out the tiny bits of shrimp. No, you wouldn’t pay fancy prices for this.
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All in all, Chalchitra disappoints because it could have been so much more. The food is strictly average, and at times dips further. As a result the restaurant comes across as a chaalu, insincere place — much like many of our potboilers. And, please, someone turn down the volume!
Chalchitra, M-38, 1st floor, Greater Kailash II, M Block Market, Delhi Meal for two: Rs 1,000 (without taxes)