(From top) Actress Rachana Banerjee and actor Abhishek Chatterjee on the dance floor at Dublin; members of various city bands at the INOX City Centre birthday bash; actress Koneenica at the Dublin do; Thai consul general Wanna Pergmark with owner Jeet Sawhney at the inauguration of the Thai food festival at Cloud 9; model Shrestha struts the ramp at Sparkz. Pictures by Rashbehari Das

Bollywood beauties might be adding oomph to quite a few international dos of late, but it was the Tolly brigade that rocked the dance floor at Dublin on Friday night. While the duo of Twinkle and Rinke Khanna chose to give the dance floor a miss, it was the Bengali babes ? Rachana Banerjee, Koneenica Banerjee and Pallavi Chatterjee ? who put on their dancing shoes and grooved well past midnight at the ITC Sonar Bangla disc.

The party, hosted by Movado, celebrated the launch of the Swiss watch major’s latest collection in the city. Brand ambassador Twinkle made a brief appearance with sister Rinke in tow. The duo posed for the shutterbugs for a few moments before retiring for the night. “It has been a tiring day at work. Need to hit the sack,” smiled Twinkle, before slipping out of the nightclub.

The Tollywood trio, with actors Abhishek Chatterjee and Kaushik for company, kept the floor rocking, dancing to the beats of DJ Harish’s Dhol vajda, Woh lamhe and Turn me on.

Thai treat

Cloud 9, the resto-bar at Astor, was the venue for a bash with a difference on Friday night. The regular revelry on the dance floor was done away with, in favour of a sober cocktail party announcing the launch of a Thai food promotion by the hotel.

The festival, which will be on till June 24, was inaugurated by Thai consul general Wanna Pergmark. The guests munched on Thai delicacies and sipped on cocktails, even as light Thai music played in the background.

“Thai food has really come a long way and is now quite popular in Calcutta. Not only is the cuisine very palatable, Thai food is very healthy as well,” said Pergmark.

The festive fare has been dished out by chef Yong Yos, who has been flown down from Hotel Shangrila in Bangkok. The sumptuous spread includes delicacies like Thung Thong, Satay kai, Pla Laad Prik, Kai Phad Krapraw and Haed Phad Krapraw. The buffet is priced at Rs 500 per couple and the a la carte price pinch is around Rs 700 per couple.

B’day bonanza

It’s carnival time at City Centre with every other store at the shopping destination hosting a bash to celebrate its first birthday.

The last in the series of birthday parties was held by INOX, which wrapped up the week-long celebration in real style. With movie buffs, loyalists and a large band of city musicians on the guest list, the party was a befitting end to the revelry.

Those who had expected to see the pretty pair of Vidya Balan and Raima Sen, who graced the venue for a press briefing of their film Parineeta, went back disappointed as both the ladies gave the party a miss.

But the absence of the glamour quotient nothwithstanding, there were enough trappings for the crowd to party hard.

The ground floor lobby of the multiplex was converted into the party zone with the snack and cold drink counters doubling up as the bar. Music by DJ Dipee added flavour to fun as INOX City Centre turned a year old.

Summer show

With the monsoons still a no-show, the fashion scene in the city is still stuck on summer.

Sparkz, the sports leisure centre in Alipore, for instance, hosted a multi-label fashion show for summer 2005 on Saturday evening.

The collections showcased were no different from the run-of-the-mill stuff one gets to see at every other show, but it was the ramp that added an extra edge to the affair. The bowling alley at the sports centre doubled up as the ramp for city catwalkers to parade on.

A host of budding designers showcased their summer lines and their enthusiasm made up for some serious design flaws.

The clothes were sashayed on the ramp by models Shrestha, Jessica, Ishika, Tina and Kim among others.

“We provide multiple entertainment options under one roof. Since we haven’t done too much with fashion in the past, we decided to host this show,” revealed a spokesperson for the club.