(From top) Pooja Bhatt, Dino Morea and Onjolee Nair at a chat show over cocktails at HHI; Tollywood actors Parambrata, Rimjhim and Kamalika at the same do. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

What: A cocktail and dinner party with Pooja Bhatt, Dino Morea and Onjolee Nair.

Where: Virgose and the poolside at Hotel Hindusthan International.

When: Tuesday night, 8 pm onwards.

The action: Soft music and dim lights made for the perfect ambience at Virgose, the resto-bar. It was a chance for those present to brush shoulders with the gorgeous Pooja Bhatt, dressed in all black, and the star cast of her to-be-released film Holiday ? Dino Morea and Onjolee Nair (the half-Bengali girl going traditional in a pretty pink salwar suit).

The threesome looked relaxed at a chat show where the director shared some of her personal holiday experiences. A denim-clad Dino talked about his holidays in Goa and visits to Calcutta and Onjolee spoke at length about her family connections in the city.

As the evening progressed, the crowd moved on to the poolside lawn where a lavish dinner spread awaited them. The poolside was beautifully done up with flowers and a candle dotted each table. A live band belting out numbers like Sacrifice and Hello kept the mood swinging.

Hostspeak: “It is a wonderful evening with some wonderful people. A great chance to socialise and have fun with friends. Pooja, Dino and Onjolee, who are loving Calcutta and the food, definitely make the party more worthwhile,” said host D.K. Jaiswal, chairman and managing director, HHI.

Celebspeak: “I love coming to this city. From the aloo posto to the mangsher jhol to the chingri malai curry, I am very fond of Bengali food,” smiled Dino.

Sip ’’ bite: At the lounge bar it was Vegetable Canapes, Malaysian Chicken, Galauti Kebab and a host of other snacks to go along with the drinks. The poolside boasted a more elaborate spread with an assortment of cuisines. One could start with the soups, salad and cheese fondue with accompaniments and move on to Dhania Murg, Vegetable Redang and Paneer Lababdar.

You also had live counters serving Parathas and Risotto. For desserts there was Petit Fours, Chocolate Fondue and Chocolate Vienna to name a few.

Crowd profile: The gathering included some Tollywood stars like Rimjhim Mitra, Parambrata Chatterjee, Arindam Sil, Kamalika, Indrajit and Rupam, models Neeraj and Jessica, entrepreneur Naveen Pai and salsa expert Vishal Kanoi.