Open letter to Salman Khan & Sohail Khan – End of the Royalty era?

On behalf of all Royalty fans, we want to alert you about the fast paced deterioration of the best nightclub Mumbai has ever seen in just two years since Royalty nightclub (Bandra, suburban Mumbai) reopened in December 2011 after Sohailbhai picked up stake (in 2010) from Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra. Mumbai’ young brigade has already given the verdict that Trilogy (Sea Princess, Juhu, Mumbai) is the most happening nightclub in Mumbai now and the SoBos (South Bombay Gen-Next) and SuBos (Suburban Bombay Next-Gen) have already pronounced the death and doom of Royalty.

And this verdict can be easily verified and confirmed by you if you visit Royalty on any Saturdays. Instead of hip hop hot tweens and twenties, Royalty has been besieged by middle-aged people (mostly stags)! Instead of a bar that used to be so crowded that it used to take ages to reach there and then another age to get your drink, Royalty bartenders are twiddling their thumbs for a large portion of the key time period between11 pm and 1 am – not many people approach the bar for drinks. Salman Khan  and Sohail Khan , kindly check the bar billings for the last few Saturdays and compare to the same period in 2011 and 2012!

It also sad that the Club management is relaxing rules and allowing under-age kids to enter the Club to make up for the fast-depleting crowds that used to throng it at one point of time. From 11 am to midnight was the time when it was fashionable for hordes of patrons to enter the Club. What is also missing is the second way of entrants, who come by 1 am after Club hopping and going to other places! Very few people are seen coming to Royalty after midnight and what’s worse – very few pay for it. Entry after 12:30 amused to be at a premium at one point of time but no more

There is a saying that the doom of a Club is imminent when certain kinds of characters have to be paid to hang around the entrance around entry time to lure impressionable minds. Instead of fashionistas and attitude-bearing youngsters, who are representative of Mumbai, it is sad to see ugly looking dubious characters, who seem to have come to the nightclub from the infamous dance bars of Mumbai. And it is also sad to see middle-aged and old foggies getting ‘escorts’, who are out to make a killing! The number of singleton foreigners hanging out inside the Club has also increased phenomenally. And yes of course, the able-bodied male ‘G’s who steal away wives and girlfriends leaving insecure partners fretting.

And considering the recent Supreme Court verdict that gay relation between consenting adults is a criminal offence, it is sad to find that Royalty is openly witnessing propositions to uninterested ‘guys’ by ‘interested guys’… also sad is the spectacle of the passageway to the restrooms where girls high in spirits and banned substances have passed out oblivious to the world and even their friends with whom they have entered. It is left to the security team of Royalty to take care of these ‘night orphans’ and pack them off in cabs/ autos not knowing what happens to them once they leave Waterfield Road. And does Royalty even have female security crew none can be seen prominently after Club hours at such times when young girls need it most? And what’s with the instant official photographer who clicks patrons even when they don’t want to be clicked? Are any wanted photographs being posted on social media networks and hurting the reputation of innocent people who didn’t know what they were doing during moments of indiscretion?

Club entry facilitators and even managers are also admitting to fewer requests for entry in the guest list before 11 pm. In the Club, very few special privileged reserved zones are being taken these days – earlier one used to see packed houses! When is the last time one sees a sparkling champagne bottle being opened at Royalty?

Instead of socialites and celebrities, all one can see is spent forces such as Shefali Zariwala (do you even remember her?)… when one’s eyes go up on the mezzanine floor to search for Salman bhai and his Bollywood friends, one sees unknown faces with a great deal of disappointment. And also bhai, can we expect you to restore Royalty to its erstwhile glory? With your new film of a ‘common man’ around the corner, can we expect you to visit Royalty and set things right? Jai Ho!

Yours sincerely,

A Royalty fan and loyalist.