Gurgaon to become key tourist destination with Kingdom of Dreams

Gurgaon, Jan 29 : Kingdom of Dreams, a 5.66 acre entertainment and leisure hotspot that will showcase Bollywood musicals and boast of an elaborate arts and food boulevard, is set to make the capital's suburb an important destination for international tourists, says project director Viraf Sarkari.

"In India, we don't have any top quality tourist destination which gives a real taste of the country except for a few like the Taj Mahal. When people have foreign guests and they have to entertain some, they either take them to a five-star hotel for a meal or if one is lucky, there might be a kathak dancer performing live somewhere. With Kingdom of Dreams, we are trying to create that one-stop where a tourist or anyone can have the feel of everything Indian," Sarkari told IANS.

Kingdom of Dreams, a Rs.1.5 billion project, has been conceptualized by the Great Indian Nautanki Company, a joint venture between Wizcraft International Entertainment and Apra Group of Companies, owners of landmark properties such as 32nd Milestone and Galaxy Hotel and Spa.

A sneak preview of the place was given to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana government officials as well as the media Friday.

According to Sarkari, director, Wizcraft International Entertainment, the destination is aimed at changing India's golden triangle of New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur into a square. It will be open to the public in May this year after an elaborate four-day launch programme.

"Gurgaon is the hub of all multinational companies and is a massive corporate hub. With this we are trying to change the golden triangle into a square and bring Gurgaon in the tourism map. The government of Haryana shared our vision and saw that it could be a huge destination," he said.

Set up on land leased by Haryana Urban Devolpement Authority (HUDA), Kingdom of Dreams will boast of three distinct domains - Culture Gully, Nautanki Mahal, and Showshaa Theatre - each offering a unique entertainment proposition.

"This is almost like a multiplex of live entertainment. A folk carnival every evening, Ram Leela show, diamond circus, and a Bollywood musical every night makes it almost like India's answer to the Sydney Opera," said Sarkari.

Culture Gully is a kaleidoscope of India's cultural, artistic and culinary diversity. Artificial clouds line the ceiling of the place and a pan-Indian cultural ambience will be created in the street-like area.

The Nautanki Mahal, a futuristic 848-seat auditorium, will be a first of its kind providing a four dimensional cinematic theatre experience that will feature musical extravaganzas with actors like Vivek Oberoi, Isha Sharvani and Gauhar Khan, apart from 100 other performers. Big names from Bollywood like Javed Akhtar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Neeta Lulla and Shiamak Davar are associated with the musical.

The ShowShaa Theatre, a dome shaped amphitheatre, will showcase lavish productions of the ancient epics - Ram Lila and Krishna Lila. It will house "The Big Fat Indian Wedding Show", a choreographed mock marriage musical where spectators can become the bridal couple and carry away filmed memories, as well as a "The Great Indian Talent Circus", which will have performances by India's popular entertainers.

"This place will have glimpses of Las Vegas, food street of Lahore, Lido of Paris. When we gave our consent for this project, we never realized it would be done up so well. Such a destination is a need for our region to make it an important tourist destination," Hooda said here.

"We are also happy as this project will generate a lot of employment for our people," he added.

Sarkari claims the project will provide employment to 700 people.