Face Off

Yes. He is very happily married to his wife, Chaya and has a six-year-old son, Dheer. The three of them make the perfect family portrait.

Occupation?

Well, by profession he is a chartered accountant. And a darn good one he insists. Why? Because he finished his degree by the time he was just 21 years old. So, let8217;s look at Momaya8217;s tally chart: A wonderful family, a brilliant professional and a dedicated student. Yawn!

With this rather dull life, why is he in the news?

Because he is the man behind The Fashion Bistro amp; Cafe which replaced The Studio bar, last Friday. This hot and happening new joint promises to mix fashion, passion and entertainment in a cool, heady cocktail.

And when he is not trying to sweep you of your feet, he is delivering hot, tasty pizzas to your door. Momaya also runs the Pizza Express chain of restaurants.

So, he is an accountant who likes to lets his hair down. A strangecombination?

Not for him. Before he got into the food business, Momaya worked as a finance consultant. quot;But I got fed up with taking a risk with other people8217;s money.quot;

So, he decided to take a risk with his own money and get into the highly-competitive restaurant business?

Well, instead of starting from scratch, he took over the Pizza Express chain today, the brand has retained its equity and Domino8217;s is not eating into his slice of the fast food pie.

The Fashion Bistro amp; Cafe is his big gamble. quot;They were looking for someone to turn around the place.quot; And for some reason they thought an accountant-turned-restauranter is the best bet.

Fashion Cafe 8212; that sounds like something to do with models and Nirmal does not strike you as a catwalk king?

Well, The Studio wanted a face-lift and when they asked Culinary Concepts the Pizza Express people for help. And he decided on a fashion cafe as models are the best crowd pullers. A host of the city8217;s most glamourous have a tie-up withthis place. Which means on certain nights, dolls like Meghna Reddy and Sheetal Malhar will be bartenders.

With faces like that in the house, the Fashion Bistro amp; Cafe is bound to be over run?

Nirmal has solved that problem. To enter, you have to be a member or a member8217;s guest. And free membership has been given to 500 of the most- happening people in town 8212; so no riff-raff will be let in.

Isn8217;t he worried that the cafe will end up being just another fad. A popular place until a new bar opens?

quot;This is a niche place and for people over 25. It will not end up being another Ghetto or Copa.quot;

Is he ageist by any chance? No. Another one of his mega-plans is to open a Sports Bar in Warden Road that caters to those under 25. Niche products is obviously his thing.

So why would a fashion cafe appeal to the over-25s and not the trendy teens ?

quot;Because you only get exposed to fashion at a certain age.quot; He has an answer for everything. Which is why clothes of leading designerswill be on display. While sipping a Long Island Iced Tea, you can ogle at the outfits of Hemant Trivedi, Wendell Rodericks and Shaina NC. Every fortnight the displays will change. Helping behind the bar will be Cookie Singh and Irfan Babhani, from Under The Over. In fact, Nirmal8217;s team of experts makes sure that he need not be out every night.

That8217;s strange. Given his job, why doesn8217;t he like to party?

quot;I like to keep a low profile. I am not a party person.quot; He works 18-hour days and after that all he wants to do is be with the family.

But if he does go out, what does he like to wear?

No fashion victim, Momaya has expensive taste. His favourite designers are Versace and Armani and some day, he would like to get their clothes to the cafe.

What is this fashionable accountant most likely to say?quot;It will happen.quot;

And least likely to say?

quot;It8217;s impossible.quot; Barring fashion, that is!