Kamal Sidhu is a quiet revelation. Calm, composed, simple, elegant and straightforward. I meet the smashing
Indo-Canadian telly show presenter at her restaurant, Nico Bombay (named after husband Nico Ghogavala) in SoBo
(South Bombay), and we slip into conversation with remarkable ease over cups of hot cappuccino.
“I drink coff ee only when I am at a shoot or out at a restaurant,” says Kamal, her signature frizzy hair and
accent in place, much like her early days on TV when she rocked the TRPs as the svelte VJ on Channel V and
MTV Asia.
As an Indo-Canadian model, Kamal clinched the Miss India-Canada crown in 1991, and went on to
carve a rocking career as a TV show presenter. But back to beverages for now. “Else it is masala chai for
me when I wake up,” she continues. From her days as a hot model to now as a chic anchor at live shows and
award nights, Kamal has always been busier than the proverbial bee. She featured on the silver screen last
in fi lm-maker Sooni Taraporevala’s Little Zizou in 2008. Today, she is hosting the TV chat mb. Inspired Series,
powered by Mercedes Benz, on CNBC and writing for a lifestyle website—yet all in her own time and at
her own pace. “I feel whatever stage of life you are in, you must give it your hundred per cent. I am enjoying
where I am right now,” she says.
The better part of last year was spent by Kamal in designing the interiors of Nico Bombay. Heavily
inspired by tropical modernism, powering the design philosophy of iconic Sri Lankan architect Geoff rey
Bawa, the restaurant is hers and her husband Nico’s baby. The toast of the SoBo party circuit, Nico Bombay
arrives subtly near Lion’s Gate in Mumbai, with distressed wood fl ooring, polished concrete walls, and
mood lighting through elongated crystals shuttering raw metal guards in the form of gleaming chandeliers.
“I have made extensive use of distressed wood in the…
Shilpi Madan for Better Homes & Gardens