Although the press release states that it will be open only to people age 25 and above, LIV, the new nightclub replacing Red Light in Kala Ghoda, seems like it was designed for 16 year olds. More specifically, it seems like it was designed for people who turned sixteen in 1999 and haven’t grown up since.

LIV-ing in the Past

Despite its hi-tech trappings, the décor at LIV is dated and unimaginative, reminiscent of a club we visited in Las Vegas ten years ago. Think black marble and stretches of mirror, a ceiling cracked open by jagged lines of light that change colour and flash in time to Enrique’s (t)humping beats. Think dizzyingly glossy floors, glowing magenta walls and special cocktails named after each of the four club owners, including one called Sunny All Night Long. Dear reader, we kid you not.

There’s also a private room, which on the night we visited, was graced by a gaggle of Bollywood celebrities including Sonam Kapoor and Imran Khan. This was one in a series of opening parties, buzzing but thankfully not overcrowded, tightly controlled by a group of ruthlessly efficient but unfailingly polite PR staff. The club opens to the public this Friday, although we use the word “public” loosely – at least for now, entry is by invitation only.

Calling the Shots

Back to Sunny All Night Long. As the bartender at the delightfully open-hearted bar (top shelf alcohol, champagne, wine and beer, all on the house) explained to us, this is a really…  um…  large Long  Island Ice Tea; we were suitably impressed, but sampled the safer sounding Crackling Sash instead (Shashi Thadani’s namesake, we were helpfully informed), a delish, creamy shot of vodka and caramel.

Other drinks were good too, including a perfectly dry martini (a persnickety friend gave the bartender detailed instructions, which he followed admirably) and whiskey-champagne shots that we rued the next morning. They also have a brief food menu featuring sushi and chicken liver pate, but do you really want to be caught with your mouth full of food with all those mirrors around?

Past Perfect

Our evening was cut short by a coterie of cops that spread through the crowd, blowing their whistles and herding out guests ruthlessly. Apparently, LIV shut at 1:30 am the next day as well. It made us nostalgic for the good old days, when the party would last well into the night; for 1999, when we were still sixteen.

Getting there: 145, MG Road, above Khyber restaurant, opposite Rhythm  House, Kala Ghoda, Fort, opens Friday, January 20.