Had Manuel been growing up today, he would have been spoiled for choice. The grand launch of Rolling Stone’s Indian edition at Mumbai last week, only signals the arrival of a number “niche magazines”. The iconic lifestyle magazine, Vanity Fair is all set to launch its Indian edition and so is the exclusive men’s monthly magazine GQ. “We have in our stable some of the world’s most admired magazine brands. As for our strategy, we will work towards achieving editorial excellence and international production values in the Indian edition of these titles,” says Ooma Dhabhar of Conde Nast Publications, which owns both these titles, apart from the ultra-posh fashion magazine, Vogue, which was also launched recently in the country.

The Indian avatar of this very exclusive fashion magazine, however, sports a Bollywood hangover. What with a size zero Kareena Kapoor, bathed in a Dolce & Gabbana creation and Bollywood’s first lady, Gauri Khan, as a cover girl. “The Indian edition of Vogue does have a distinct Bollywood feel, unlike the Western counterpart, which is very fashion oriented,” says designer Agnimitra Paul, who is a regular subscriber to both the editions.

Something which Rolling Stone enthusiast and Jadavpur University MA student, Parjanya Sen, finds quite worrying too. “I hope they retain the Rolling Stone ideologies and don’t end up catering to the popular taste,” states Sen . Food columnist musician, Nondon Bagchi reiterates. “ Rolling Stone is like bible for music lovers. It will not be feasible to market it otherwise,” he says.

Sudeep Chakravarti, editor-in-large, Rolling Stone, assures that there is nothing to worry about. “Rolling Stone has always been a niche magazine. We will never compromise on our ideologies. We realize that our readers expect quality from us, and we hope to live up,” he says.

Vogue, however, plans to go for the whole hog in India. Their idea is to reach out to as many readers as possible. “Each and every aspect of the magazine is adapted to suit the Indian reader. We boasts of a dynamic team adhering to local preferences in terms of stories, faces in the magazines and every other aspect,” says Dhabhar.