It's been nearly two years since Kala Ghoda's iconic Rhythm House shut shop. The bright blue of the building faded and the colourful posters at the high arched windows bleached monochromatic with time. In 2018, a Tweet from Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, starting a project to revive the building brought in a rush of support from Mumbaikars from all walks of life, including bigwigs like music director Vishal Dadlani and MLA Milind Deora. A year on, the progress still lies mired in paperwork.

But there is new sign of life at the building that houses Rhythm House. Men's fashion designer Kunal Rawal has taken over the first floor of the building, right above the erstwhile record shop for his flagship store. Officially launching today and opening for the public next week onward, the space marries Rawal's own sensibilities as a fashion designer while preserving the integrity of the art-deco building. "I have such fond memories of Rhythm House, as a Juhu boy," says Rawal. "When I started going about the hunting process for a space for my flagship store, I didn't think twice, I just jumped at it."

The facade – now painted Rawal's signature ox-blood red – is not the only change. The first floor, which housed a number of pigeon-hole offices, has now been opened up into a glorious single-room store, with a mezzanine VIP room. "I opened up the windows with their high arches, exposed the beautiful high roof and opened up the cubby-hole space," lists Rooshad Shroff, the interior designer, who Rawal got on-board for the project. "The floor was scratched up and scarred in places, because of the partition but we were determined to preserve the old wood. I got another layer of polishing done just a few days before the launch because I was not satisfied with it. It was one of the biggest challenges."

A number of other brand identifiers are also scattered around the shop. "My love for fashion started with the processes that you don't see. What the fabric goes through to become a garment is the beauty of fashion and I wanted to see those bare-bones back-end of the factory as a part of the space," explains Rawal.

Hence came the conveyor belt of clothes that leads from the VIP room into the storage space, and the hanging racks of clothes in the main space that can be drawn up towards the ceiling with the help of a remote control, to leave the space vacant for events. Rawal's love for military and grunge elements also shows in the large bronze Morse-code buttons on the floor and pieces of US army equipment picked up by Shroff on a trip to Thailand, refurbished and painted the same red as the facade.

But what of Rhythm House?

With the space opening up right above the one-time record store, one can't help but wonder what happened to the revival project. Jay Shah, Vice President & Head of Cultural Outreach, Mahindra Group, who has been a part of the project since Mahindra's tweet, ensures this writer that the efforts are still being made for a musical space. "At present we are awaiting direction from the Enforcement Directorate on the attachment proceedings that are underway and once that’s completed we will have a clear road map and steps to be taken to access the space occupied by the erstwhile Rhythm House. They have cautioned us that it may take a while before they are able to do anything with that property due to the new provisions of the PMLA act," he explains, adding. "We are confident that once there is clarity about access, the overwhelming public support we saw following Mr. Mahindra's tweet will return with renewed vigour."

Deora, however, says that there is also a very real concern about the revival of Rhythm House, aside form legalities, is that of opportunity. "I don't think Rhythm House will come back in its old form. Whatever happens there needs to be an economically sustainable model, and a record shop is not sustainable anymore," he says, adding that he wishes Rawal the best with his enterprise. "It's a bittersweet moment for me. Rawal is a good friend of mine and I wish him well, but I don't know how viable a venue for music at Rhythm House is anymore. Of course, if something is done, the enterprise will have my full support."

Rawal too, hopes to keep the music alive. "Rhythm House has been known for its music and music is a big part of me and a big part of the label. Lines are blurring between the creative arts today. If you look at the clothes a lot of designers create, there's a lot of layers and references that come from art and music," he says, adding that he will be open to musical collaborations and events in his space.

Here's hoping the music comes back to Rhythm House, just as life has come back to the building.