Photo: Prakhar Pandey
The Kingdom of Dreams (KoD), the premier entertainment destination of Gurgaon (and perhaps even NCR), is unfortunately standing at the crossroads today. Perceived as the Mecca of live entertainment and fantasy dining, the Kingdom of Dreams was built on a grand scale by the promoters, with the hope that it would capture the imagination of the classes - thus ensuring a good return on investment. However, four years down the road, KoD finds itself weighed down by high operation costs and a constant high maintenance bill for its unique, colossal world-class infrastructure. Given its high overheads, KoD needs at least 80 per cent ‘occupancy’ of its food and entertainment ‘shows’, for sustenance. The management has already approached the Union Tourism Ministry for help, and requested that KoD be treated as a tourism destination, as it has become an important part of the Golden Triangle (Delhi-Jaipur Agra) tourist circuit. No doubt a large number of tourists to Delhi and Jaipur now also halt at Gurgaon and visit the Kingdom of Dreams, but the number is currently not large enough. The locals would also want KoD to keep going, as they are proud that the Kingdom of Dreams offers them and all visitors a world class entertainment experience – something that even Delhi does not quite have. The management clearly needs to find some out of the box solutions.
Gagan Sharma, who along with Wizcraft is the Co-promoter of the Great Indian Nautanki Company, which owns the Kingdom of Dreams, confirms that they have sought support from the Ministry of Tourism as the project has been facing difficulties lately. “Across the world projects like KoD are supported by governments, as they also generate worthwhile employment and revenue for the State. We provide direct employment to 1500 people, and indirectly to 5000 men and women, which is significant. This project is indeed unique. It is one of the best entertainment destinations across the world,” asserts Sharma. Rather than getting support from the State, KoD in fact has to contend with rental payments to HUDA, which has leased land to KoD. There are also allegations that the management has mortgaged the HUDA land against a loan - which would be in violation of the agreement. Sharma clarifies that they have mortgaged the rights only, and they have taken due permission from the Haryana government to do so. The Company claims to have already invested more than Rs. 400 crores, and states that an additional Rs. 250 to 300 crores is needed (to add more shows and variety), to make the project commercially viable. While shows like Zangoora and Jhumroo have attracted (and continue to attract) a large number of visitors, and Culture Gully is quite a hit, the management has realised that these are not enough to take care of its high-class production and maintenance costs. The high prices for the shows have also failed to attract many middle class families.
Many Gurgaon residents who have been to KoD, and truly appreciate this unique project, suggest that there is need to reinvent the place. Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, a civil society activist who has been to KoD a couple of times, opines, “KoD is not only an entertainment destination, but also a unique ‘art & culture’ facility – in design and performance. It should be helped by the government, but should definitely not be run by it. It must adopt a more sustainable model of operation. The best solution would be to adopt a PPP (Public Private Partnership) model, including revenue sharing. Given the reported large operational gaps, things won’t improve without a significant overhaul and new investment.” Some entertainment industry professional say that if the government steps in, the problem can be resolved. KoD management believes that if the Haryana government takes a supportive stand and treats KoD as a tourism project under the 2008 Haryana Tourism policy, a number of problems could be solved. Gagan Sharma says that the State should extend the lease period from the current 15 years to at least 33 years, as it is difficult to get long-term loans and to attract investors at this stage of the project. “We also would like the lease rental (to HUDA) to be renegotiated, and some additional land provided for some new shows/facilities,” says Sharma. The Haryana government has indeed provided better terms to other projects, even within the City. The adjacent Appu Ghar, which is coming up on 42 acres of government land, has been given on a longer lease and on very nominal terms. Sharma adds that while KoD is being held guilty of mortgaging its (land) lease rights for a loan, the Appu Ghar management has already leased out a major part of the land and is using that money to build a recreation park. “If they can be touted as a tourism project, surely we deserve better. We bring in top class entertainers and artists from across India and the world. We have built a theatre that is at par with the best in the West. We have taken such a colossal project to a great level virtually on our own. KoD now needs encouragement form the State,” he asserts. The Great Indian Nautanki Company, which is joint venture between Apra Group and Mumbai-based Wizcraft has also asked the Tourism Ministry to make KoD a part of the Incredible India Campaign, and also include it in the itinerary of The Luxury Trains (like Palace on Wheels). A local resident and a regular KoD visitor, Manika Walia, opines that while it is a most worthy concept and facility, there is need for it to become more egalitarian, and offer more variety in terms of art, culture and food - like Delhi Haat. The need for more variety has been well understood by the management as well, and they are planning to add more drama and features to this entertainment hotspot. Ayesha Dahra, a senior executive at KoD, tells Friday Gurgaon that they will soon add six live kitchens to the Culture Gully, as people are very fond of coming to this place to eat different cuisines. “We have a large number of repeat visitors from different parts of the country, and the expatriates living in Gurgaon and Delhi are also regular visitors. They all bring their visiting friends and family here. The new live food stations will offer authentic cuisines from different parts of the world,” she says. She adds that the beautiful sky, the grand artwork and the great food, attract people from far and wide. On the broad offerings of KoD, a number of people also say that the Kingdom of Dreams should have been a dynamic organism, which should have changed and evolved with time and experience…much like our like our own dreams. It has remained a little too static. Zangoora, the live entertainment show, has run unchanged for a long time - with almost everyone (who can afford it) in Gurgaon having seen it twice. Now even Jhumroo seems as old. The food, art and culture have also not changed much, thus robbing the (repeat) visitors of any novelty. Alka Gurha, a long time Gurgaon resident and a blogger, opines that while she has been to KoD a few times, it is now becoming difficult to convince herself to pay such a high price for another visit to ‘the same place’. “We need more live shows, more entertainment and more diversity, for us to want to repeatedly visit KoD,” she says.
An inescapable fact is that Zangoora has been a most successful presentation – it recently celebrated its 1500th. run. Shena Gamath, the Director of the show, agrees that the biggest challenge for the actors and directors is to ensure ‘freshness’, despite the show being repeated day after day. “We do have different performers, who bring their own flavour - the actors change, the characters change. It is a unique, magical show, with top quality production values,” asserts Gamath. Ayehsa Dahra says that corporates are an important clientele of KoD. “We have the facilities to host meetings and conferences. We are very popular with the MNC crowd,” she says. Real Estate consultant Sanjay Sharma is of the opinion that KoD occupies an important space in the cultural and entertainment mindset of Gurgaon. “It has been built on a world class scale, and given an opportunity it can surely bounce back. I think the management needs to reinvent this place. They need to make the operations more efficient and productive, but clearly not at the cost of creativity,” states Sharma. He adds that if the promoters want government support and help, then KoD needs to be more transparent in its operations and management. “KoD needs to be more responsive to the community, and should offer subsidised tickets to at least HUDA residents (as the land has been given by this agency). “Even people who can’t afford to buy the tickets should be given a sneak peek (maybe by designating one such day in a week), to discover what live entertainment is all about. KoD needs to build a positive universal vibe around itself, as currently it is seen as a destination of the elite, for the elite and by the elite,” he concludes. Critics like RTI activist Harinder Dhingra see these activities as wastage of resources, and assert that unless the management of KoD and the newly established Appu Ghar are ready to become more transparent and accountable, the government should not help these organisations with public money and resources. Dhingra adds that KoD should be asked to give 25 per cent discount to all the residents who live in HUDA sectors, as it was part of the original agreement. The auditorium also should be made available once a week to HUDA, for its own functions and meetings. “The promoters must deliver on their promises before they seek public money and support,” he says. He is also skeptical about the investments and losses that have been declared. (On Appu Ghar, Dhingra alleges that the Haryana government has leased 42 acres of prime commercial land for about Rs. 95 crores, while the circle rate of that land is Rs. 826 crores). “I want these organisations to be brought under RTI,” he asserts. Dhingra clarifies that he is not in favour of closing down projects like KoD, but if public money and resources are to be involved, then the management will have to be more transparent and accountable, and be willing to share the facility with the common man.
Gagan Sharma, who dreamt the Kingdom of Dreams, says that they have no problem with transparency, and they run the place in a professional manner. “We have, with our blood, sweat and tears, built the KoD brand and also shown the world that we can create and run such a complex and colossal ‘art cum entertainment - showshaa’ facility. We just need some positive support from the government for a project that has surely made India and Indians proud,” he says. The management is very hopeful that the Modi government, which has identified Tourism as a national priority, will take effective steps to ensure that the required support is extended to KoD. After all, why cannot there be, should not there be, Kingdoms of Dreams in a few other cities/regions of India, with their own local cum global flavours? In fact, why not Global KoDs, to start with in the US and UK? Gurgaonites too want the pride of their City to not only survive but thrive. But they also want it to give back to the City and the community as a responsible institution…one which is not only entertaining, but also caring. Let the Dream live on!
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