Glitter Bugs

Not if you’re part of the Retro Revival that’s hitting a dance floor next door. At Congos, designer Malini Ramani’s new club in Candolim, Goa, music from the ’70s and ’80s is the rule. ‘‘Trance is banned here; it’s soulless,’’ says Ramani, an unabashed devotee of the decadent, bubbly-floweth-over decade. Even her creations have a disco feel. ‘‘I love the ’70s look and my clothes are very Studio 54: shiny, flamboyant and glitzy.’’

Middle-class mainstays like Pantaloon are cashing in as well. The garment retailer launched a line of brightly-hued, ’70s-style tops for women, and says they’re selling over 300 pieces around the country every day.

Upper-end lifestyle chain Be: will also incorporate ’70s silhouettes and styles—paisley prints, gypsy skirts and acid-toned shirts—in their upcoming collections. ‘‘Retro-influenced lines generate excitement that comes from reviving something that was once cool,’’ says Subhashree Prasad, brand manager.

Bastions of resistance are crumbling fast. At Busaba, the hip South Mumbai lounge, it was sacrilegious to request anything but deep house—until recently. The demand for disco peaked on New Year’s eve. ‘‘I couldn’t believe it,’’ says flummoxed owner Nikhil Chib, ‘‘People kept asking for It’s The Time To Disco.’’

The most popular song on the Kal Ho Naa Ho soundtrack was another savvy touch by director Karan Johar. ‘‘Retro’s cool in the West and when I was in Europe last year, all I heard was bands from the ’70s and ’80s,’’ says Johar. ‘‘So I wanted a song with the word ‘‘disco’’ in the title; I felt it would work.’’ Johar also acknowledges that the film’s puerile G-U-J-J-U chant was influenced by the Village People’s classic, D-I-S-C-O.

The film’s music composers—Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy—were startled. Why go back in time when a majority of the audience never lived through the Disco Dancer era? But Johar was resolute and once the trio started working on the track, they realised it was a chance to revisit their youth and have some fun.

And It’s The Time To Disco is a half-minute crash course in the vintage ’70s sound: Barry White-like introduction, bumping keys, blaring trumpets, and ‘‘space jet’’ effects. ‘‘It’s so authentic—down to the annoying telephone ring,’’ says amused composer Ehsaan Noorai, 40. Johar obviously knew the power of remixed sound.

And any club that places its DJ cabin in the circular opening of a 20-foot neon guitar, and dishes out golden hits from the polyester period has a winning formula. Over a thousand couples in Mumbai paid Rs 7,500 for the chance to kick it at the ’70s-theme New Year’s bash at the JW Marriott’s nightclub, Enigma.‘‘Our clients are slightly older—and we give them what they want,’’ says Bart Buiring, the hotel’s director of operations.

Yet the vintage music played at these retro round-ups has been given a modern twist. Most DJs add new elements to the original song, making it palatable for young clubbers too. “Most bootlegs retain the original vibe but are backed by aggressive beats and strong baselines,’’ says DJ Tushqa, of South Mumbai’s Red Light.

Tushqa spun for over 10,000 people in Goa recently. After a lukewarm response to his opening sequence of contemporary chart toppers, he experimented with a bootleg version of Thriller—sparking the masses to life, then rousing them to a frenzy.

Repackaged retro is big business today, and the global fashion industry has made a killing by reviving themes and motifs from the velvet age. ‘‘The look is so popular that you can buy it off the shelf—even mass brands can’t ignore it,’’ says fashion stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania, who scoured New York’s flea markets for vintage elements for the It’s The Time To Disco costumes.

Even Reebok has introduced a Classic segment, exemplified by their distinctive Union Jack logo and all-white sneaker series. And few would dispute that Adidas’s retro line is infinitely more hip than its newer styles. ‘‘The moss green track suit with the three stripes and original logo is a powerful style statement,’’ says Shroff-Adajania.

Some trend watchers attribute the renewed interest to the adventurous spirit that prevailed over the angel dust decade. ‘‘It was the most glorious period for fashion, and individuals were experimenting with clothes, drugs and lifestyles,’’ says designer Manish Arora, who draws heavily from retro themes and imagery. ‘‘Today it’s widely understood that those years were about pushing boundaries and people want to celebrate that attitude.’’

Also, many city-bred Indians grew up on songs from the disco decade but with no access to a discotheque. They lived the champagne ’70s only through smuggled magazines, muffled audio cassettes and Saturday Night Fever.

Now the era is on tap. ‘‘There’s an urge to experience all the things we missed out on,’’ says restaurateur Ash Chandler. ‘‘Retro clubs are filled with people enacting a past they didn’t really have.’’