Imagine walking into a spaghetti western film that’s been taken over by Hunter S. Thompson. Dazed an confused you turn around and are transported to a tropical land where bejeweled women dance and sing in a foreign tongue and a strange seafaring man shouts orders at you. You have entered the world of Bombay Royale, and the only way out, is to dance.

Described recently by Tony Hillier at The Australian newspaper as 'where Slumdog Millionaire meets Goldfinger head on, with Quentin Tarantino and Indiana Jones lurking in the corner'.

Rolling Stone called them 'Dr Dre meets Dr No'.

One thing is for sure if you want to live in a vintage Bollywood film then Bombay Royale is the way there. We caught up with The Tiger to chat about the band taking over Howler in Melbourne's north for the month of December.

Your sound is unique and live show legendary. By all accounts it’s like a Bollywood movie soundtrack played out live on stage. How did the band start? Are you all just massive Bollywood movie buffs?

It was the skipper (Andy Williamson) who got the band together. He loves the genre of vintage Bollywood and wanted to bring it alive on stage. So he went out and found the rest of us through his networks, inspired us with his passion and put the band together.

Do you write the music or is it covers from vintage Bollywood film soundtracks?

We write all of our own music. Our writing is collaborative and really one of the most exciting parts of this project has been the way our music has evolved. What you now hear from our shows is still inspired by vintage Bollywood but also it's completely original and a product of this time and place. We’re certainly channelling the spirit of 60s and 70s Bollywood in much of what we do. But our show and our music is all our own so it’s completely natural for us on stage.

Melbourne loves to party, so it’s no wonder you have a big following here. However, have you found it difficult to get people out of their comfort zone elsewhere you have played? Was it difficult initially to get people to shows in Melbourne? How did you overcome that?

It’s not easy to hook audiences for any band, let alone if you are playing something unfamiliar and writing lyrics in other languages. You just have to love what you do, keep writing great music that moves people and gets the dance floor pumping. There are no shortcuts :)

After playing huge festivals like Glastonbury and Meredith locally, how do find festival crowds vs. club shows? Are festivals just a bigger party or do you curate the shows differently?

Festivals are a huge buzz but we love the club shows. Of course we do curate sets for the audience. I think some of our favourite gigs have been the sweaty, intimate club shows we’ve played at various places all over the world.

You all dress up on stage, do you find fans dressing up as well? What should a fan try and wear to fit in at a Bombay Royale show?

Yeah, we love the fans who dress up. Just live your character and give up your inhibitions. A Bombay Royale show isn’t a place to be understated.

Tell us more about the 'cinematic show' and live projections we can expect at Howler. Are these mainstays of the live set or something special for Howler shows?

The visuals have been a part of our show for some time now. It’s a mashup of old Bollywood scenes and our own live footage. Our shows take you on a crazy journey into a very different world, and the projections are part of that.

Playing residencies is a bit of a Melbourne thing, have you played them before? Why do you think Melbourne has a residency culture where Sydney and other cities do not?

Because we’ve got the right audience. People here are curious and willing to discover new music. Going to see a band just isn’t something people do as much in other cities. We love playing here.

What do you like about playing residencies? What’s the advantage over just one show?

You can really get comfortable and it’s a relaxed vibe. Usually a couple of shows into a residency are our favourite gigs. Plus we often get our new songs into the set during a residency. Come along to Howler to get a preview of our next album!

Check out The Bombay Royale every Wednesday night in December at Howler.