Clowns in My Garden!

Clowns in My Garden!

The city life with all its glitter and glamour gets too much at times, and all you want is to find a hideout, a perfect retreat that would bring respite. We at One World News are always on a hunt to find such retreats and bring them to you. The latest addition in that list of such havens is the Club Nirvana Patio, another of the Unitech Patio Clubs.

Club Nirvana Patio

Located strategically in Gurgaon, just off the NH8 at Sector 50, Club Nirvana is marked by its lush green landscaping and a classy outlook. As you enter, you can feel yourself relax already owing to the beauty of its surroundings. The sprawling gardens and modern architecture gives the place a regal feel. True to its name “Nirvana” the place seems like a blissful retreat. It has also matured into an entertainment hub hosting many cultural events.

Sumptuous food was served post the play at Club Nirvana.

We happened to be there attending one such event, the play “Hamlet: The Clown Prince”. Directed by the eminent actor/director Rajat Kapoor and his exceptional star cast which included famous names like Kalki Koechlin, Atul Kumar, Neil Bhoopalam, Sujay Saple, Namit Das and Puja Sarup. The show put up by these actors as a bunch of clowns attempting to interpret Hamlet and getting lost in translation. Often coming up with satirical remarks, whimsical statements, sometimes making poignant interpretations and mostly horsing around and leaving the audience in splits, the play received much adulation and praise from all present.

The clowns portraying various characters in the Hamlet play.

After the play wrapped up amidst tremendous applause, we interviewed few of the stars of the show. Fido the Clown, played by Neil Bhoopalam, was one of the most fun characters to watch on stage.

Neil Bhoopalam as Fido the Clown.

His excellent comic timing and spectacular

performance instantly endeared the audience to his character. It was refreshing to see that off-stage, Neil was as genial as on-stage. During our conversation, he related his experiences playing Fido, and said, “I love playing funny. I thoroughly enjoy it. It’s like a party on stage.” We asked him how long does it take to put up a show such as this and he revealed, “Oh it took many months! For about six months we would meet on and off, once a week or twice a month depending on availability of everyone.” On being asked how funny Rajat as a director is, Neil laughed and said, “He takes comedy seriously!”

Namit Das, another brilliant performer in the play, spoke with us too, about his experiences performing for this play. On being asked how difficult is it to play funny, he said, “There are days then there are days. Sometimes the audience doesn’t respond. Once when we put up a show at Amsterdam around four or five years back, for the first fifteen minutes there was silence and nobody was laughing. We were really scared since we were used to loud cheering and participation from the audience and this was completely unexpected. But when it got over they all stood clapping for the longest time and we had to come back on stage and do encore.” Commending them on their amazing camaraderie with each other, we asked Namit how is such level of coordination achieved, to which he responded, “We’ve all done a lot of theatre and other such shows together. It takes a long time to achieve that coordination. Knowing each other more off-stage helps too and we all spend a lot of time off-stage as well.”

Kalki Koechlin, another star of the show, was forthcoming in relating her experiences as well. On being asked how was it to work with Rajat Kapoor, she said, “He is fantastic as a director. He makes theatre very exciting for me.

Kalki entertaining the fans in the post play lunch.

He makes sure it’s different from films. His films are all about realism while his plays are extravagant.” Curious about the theme of clowns, we asked her the importance of them in the depiction of a tragedy such as Hamlet, to which she responded, “Rajat is a big fan of Charlie Chaplain. The tragedy-comedy dynamic that clowns depict is what sets them apart. With their painted faces which look happy, but if you look closely, they are actually depressed.”

Rajat Kapoor addressing the audience after the play.

The riveting experience created by the powerful performances delivered on stage was extended even after the show was over by the superb hospitality offered by the Nirvana staff. Beginning from the arrangement made for the guests in their lawns to the exquisite menu offering the choicest of Continental/Chinese options, all added to the cool and classy spirit of the place. We asked a few members of the club to rate their satisfaction and received glowing recommendations about the place. The other facilities provided by the Club is its comfortable accommodation, arranging weddings and banquets and its fine dining services all add to the idea of it being a one stop place for all your leisurely pursuits. The appeal of the place as a perfect retreat from the hustle bustle of city life while retaining the entertaining ambiance by offering a plethora of cultural and fun activities makes it one of our favorite spots to frequent.

Picture Credits : Nitish Rampal