Vikram Dasappa, partner of Nando’s and Neeru Radhakrishnan owner and creative director of Play Salon and Spa discuss about styling, hospitality and more...
Vikram Dasappa: How did you start your salon?
Neeru Radhakrishnan: My career path is quite a story. I had wanted to become a chef and pursued a course in hotel management. I even worked at the front desk of a leading hotel. However, I couldn’t continue with the routine work and decided to get into styling. I did a couple of courses in styling and have also won the L’Oreal Colour Trophy award. I started Play a few years back… How about you?
V: Hmmm…that was quite a career jump. As far as my journey goes, I am basically from Coorg and we are into the coffee business. Later, I decided to diversify and I wanted to give different brands in the food industry. Since, Bangalore has a lack of nightlife and trendy places I decided to set up Nando’s in this city. However, we have worked on the restaurant in such a manner that it suits the Indian palate.
N: Oh’s that’s wonderful. In terms of the food industry, I think the city offers a plethora of restaurants and cuisines to the people. They are willing to try out new cuisines and the interiors too, play a big role now.
V: That’s very true. People in this city need variety and we need to give the best of deals to them. So as far as styling is considered, do you think Bangalore people are style conscious?
N: When you compare with cities like Mumbai and Delhi, people in Bangalore don’t give that much importance to grooming. You wouldn’t see people visiting the salon as much as in other cities. However, I’ve always felt that it’s the weather that does the trick here. The hair doesn’t get frizzy; neither is there a necessity for you to cut your hair short for the summer. The sense of style is very casual here.
V: So, is it that they don’t give importance to grooming? Of the places you’ve travelled which one would you pick as the style conscious countries…
N: It’s not that, I would probably say that Bangalore girls are naturally very pretty that they don’t have to visit a salon. If you look the number of people who win in several beauty pageants, they are all from Bangalore. A lot of them are casual and trendy in their own way and now that you can buy several beauty products and use it at home, the rate of women visiting salons is less. As far as stylish countries are considered, I would pick Singapore, Japan and UK.
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