New York's Man of the Hour
By Sapna Sadarangani

People can’t help but find thirty-two year old hotelier and actor Vikram Chatwal unequivocally charming. He is a Wharton grad that parties with supermodel Gisele and socialite Paris Hilton, and he’s modeled M&A deals at Morgan Stanley and haute couture in Vogue. “It’s a tough balance, you’ve almost got to be schizophrenic in some aspects, have split personalities. That’s very extreme terminology for it, but you wear different hats. I wear different turbans,” he laughs.

Different turbans, indeed. Following the relatively conventional path from Wharton to Wall Street, Vikram found himself at age twenty-five modeling for a fourteen-page shoot in Vogue photographed by famed fashion photographer, Ellen von Unwerth. “They were looking for an Indian-looking model, which there really weren’t any back then.” His turbaned appearance in Vogue catalyzed a series of modeling stints. The best part for Vikram? “Meeting the girls, by far.” On further consideration, the recently engaged Vikram adds, “and the exotic locations.”

Decadent travels are de rigueur for Vikram, from Helmut Newton’s memorable eightieth birthday party in Monaco to exotic modeling shoots in Bora Bora. Yet the playboy image belies a surprising taste for simple pleasures. Things he can’t resist in a woman? “The dimple on the lower back. It’s just really cute. Oh, and nice toes.” And in that rare free hour, his guilty vices? “Good red wine. Hip hop. And The Simpsons: I have to see it once a day!” he says, laughing. The Simpsons? “It is shocking. The Simpsons is an anti-depressant for me.”

From managing his hip hotel properties like the Time and the newly rebranded Dream (formerly known as the Majestic), his trendy lounges (Ava Penthouse; K, the new Kama Sutra lounge in Midtown; a stake in Joe’s Pub), and his film production company (co-owned with Deepak Chopra’s son Gotham) to brief catwalk stints and big screen appearances including a scene in Zoolander, Vikram has made business a pleasure and pleasure a business.

His business aspirations remain high. “If there isn’t a Sikh billionaire already out there, I hope I’ll be the first one.” But for now, acting seems to be where Vikram’s heart is. He seems to be off to a good start in conquering the big screen, with his starring role in the new Indo-French crossover film, One Dollar Curry. Following the film’s splashy debut at Cannes, India Today called Vikram “an international playboy who’s found his calling in films.”

In this romantic comedy with a hint of the surreal, Vikram plays a Sikh man searching for love in Paris while passing himself off as a great Indian chef. “It’s interesting because no one ever shows this side of Paris,” he muses, “the immigrant side, that is, like the Southall of London. The film shows you how Paris is very similar to those other places—Indians doing the stereotypical shopkeeping, hustling, and wheeling-dealing.”

Despite his unconventional lifestyle and laissez-faire attitude on love, Vikram admits that his Sikh heritage has played a major part in shaping his identity. “I’ve never cut my hair. One of the reasons I can face the world is because I was raised as a Sikh. I always had to defend myself, and explain myself to other people—why I wore a turban, why it’s justified to keep your hair. If you’re taught to protect, cherish and explain something over and over, it builds a lot of confidence.”

Indeed, many observers say they find an air of spirituality about Vikram Chatwal—it may be the long hair and the Sikh tattoos, or simply the signature Zen-like calm he exudes in the midst of New York’s chaos. Would he ever leave New York? “Unlikely, but if I just had to pack up and go somewhere for a while I’d say it’s Borobodur, an island in Indonesia. It’s magical there: the sky seems to change every second.”

Model, actor, entrepreneur, playboy, spiritualist… how does Vikram want to be known by the world? “I just want to be known as someone who enjoyed the moment. I have that Taoist view in me… now.

Photographs by Dominic Sidhu