Fit for a King

Despite sudden thundershowers and traffic snarls,the Canali boutique at ITC Maurya Sheraton opened with a glittering do presided over by the debonair Kabir Bedi,clad in a Canali Nawab suit. Bedi,63,relived his Italian connection reminiscing about his role as a Robin Hood pirate in Sandokan,the 1970s Italian production,after which he became very popular in Italy. “It won’t be boasting if I say I am a household name in Italy. They know me there for 30 years,I even speak Italian fluently,” Bedi said as he chatted with the marketing director Paolo Canali who flew in from Milan for the launch of the store and the new jacket line. “Our journey in India starts with the travelling Indian who knows our product,” said Canali as he showed us around the 1,000 square feet store. Besides the range of Nawab jackets in black wool,velvet and pure cotton,the store stocks ties in silk,leather wallets,cashmere jackets and woollen pullovers and leather travel bags encased in glass in the background. We spotted socialite Timsy Anand,kitted out in white chatting to cricket commentator Atul Wasan,actor Jas Arora,Bedi’s beau Parveen Dusanj,restaurateur AD Singh and Tikka Shatrujit Singh,Advisor,Louis Vuitton. Artist Satish Gujral walked in later along with his wife. The Nawab jackets begin at Rs 59,500.