Dream interrupted?

Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon might be facing financial hiccups but the show is far from over

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It was a crisp winter evening of January 2010 and a gentle mist was settling on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway. It had been an hour-and-a-half since I started from Gurgaon to reach Delhi's Kamani Auditorium for the opening ceremony of the National School of Drama's 12th Bharat Rang Mahotsav, but still hadn't managed to reach my destination. Throughout the way, I was lamenting the near absence of culture hubs in Delhi's southern suburb. My prayers were answered when later that month, Kingdom of Dreams opened to public.

Its inaugural musical, Zangoora, ran to packed houses, with some visitors, including a colleague's father, watching it six, seven and eight times. The culture-starved residents of Gurgaon finally had a venue to go to. Four years later, the entertainment space is going strong, but news of a financial crunch seems to be rubbing off some of its sheen.

Kingdom of Dreams, spread across six acres in Gurgaon's Sector 29, is run by the Great Indian Nautanki Company, or GINC - a joint venture of Apra Group and Wizcraft International Entertainment. In July, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India had pulled up the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) for not recovering cumulative lease rent of Rs 9.33 crore from GINC. The government auditor found that an amount of Rs 9.33 crore was recoverable along with the penalty of Rs 90.03 lakh for delayed payments. The principal secretary of the Haryana government had then said that the outstanding lease rent would be recovered. He had added that the project was of international repute and attracted visitors from across India and the overseas. HUDA had leased out an auditorium in February 2008 to the Great Indian Nautanki Company for 15 years at a lease rent of Rs 36 lakh per month, which was to be increased by 10 per cent after the expiry of every three years. 

According to recent news, HUDA filed a case against GINC for defaulting on lease rent over the past two years. When contacted, HUDA administrator Anita Yadav refused to elaborate on the details, stating that the matter is sub judice.

The spokesperson for Kingdom of Dreams, while refusing to answer specific questions posed to her, said the matter is in court. She added that a stay order has been issued in favour of Kingdom of Dreams in the lease rent case.

There are those who believe that for a performer there is no place like Kingdom of Dreams. Kashmira Irani, who played a key role in the smash hit Zangoora, says the venues here, like Nautanki Mahal and Showshaa Theatre, are one of a kind. "The team is very clear in its vision and the place that they have created defies imagination," says Irani who performed at the 1,000th show of the musical two years ago. The musical, she says, has now completed more than 1,700 shows. She has seen Broadway shows in but believes that the state-of-the-art stage and aerial dance mechanics at Kingdom of Dreams are better than the international ones. "I used to jabber on and on at home about the infrastructure at Kingdom of Dreams. My mother and sister would hear me out but not really believe me. But when they came from Mumbai to see me perform, they were amazed," says Irani.

Culture Gully, the 'indoor street of India' spread over 100,000 sq ft, too has its share of loyal customers. "When I first visited the place, the snapshot of Indian food and culture presented under a beautiful sky dome really impressed me," says Arijit Sengupta, copy editor with a Gurgaon-headquartered multinational advertising agency. However, during his trip to Johannesburg later that year, he came across a similar concept. "I felt a little let down as I used to think that the idea of a street under a sky dome at the Kingdom of Dreams was original," he says. He adds that the prices at the Culture Gully, a boulevard showcasing Indian cuisines and cultures, too sometimes deter people from visiting the place often. "You need to pay Rs 700 to enter the place and eat or drink what you can in that amount, or else recharge that coupon. Sadly, there is not a lot that you can buy in that amount," says another visitor to the Gully.

Jyotsna Jain, 36, a Gurgaon-based homoeopath, used to visit Kingdom of Dreams at least twice a month with her four-year-old son. However, in the last year, the visits have trickled down to one in two to three months. "There are only so many times that one can watch Jhumroo (a live musical comedy show) or eat at the Culture Gully. The place successfully manages to attract new customers but there needs to be more variety to bring repeat customers in," she says.

Kingdom of Dreams, meanwhile, is not letting any of these issues get it down. "The operations of Kingdom of Dreams," said the spokesperson, "are unaffected and we are operating as usual."