Wanderer

Shah Rukh Khan @iamsrk
How cool 2 hav rides of ur films & way cooler is ur lil baby is the first 1 2 go on the ride with u! Papa is a hero!

Want to relive your favourite films outside the cinema hall? Just head over to Bollywood Parks at Dubai Parks & Resorts — and chances are you would want to park yourself there. Like permanently.

Just a 45-minute ride from Dubai, with the almost-white desert on either side merging with the clear blue sky as you vroom down the smooth highway, Bollywood Parks is a paradise for the Bolly buff. With acres and acres dedicated to films that define every jabra fan.

It was on a sunny December day that a Bolly buff — that would be me — made her way to the destination, the first of its kind in the world, that aims to redraw the entertainment map of the Middle East. And though Dubai Parks & Resorts is not just limited to Bollywood Parks — there’s Holly haunt MotionGate and Lego heaven LegoLand — no prizes for guessing where I hopped, skipped, jumped and almost ran to first!

 

Blockbuster address

Even though Dubai Parks & Resorts is sprawled over a few hundred million square feet, it isn’t tough to spot Bollywood Parks. For one, it has a gigantic installation of two pairs of hands welcoming every visitor and second, it’s where you will find the maximum crowds. At any time, on any day.

As I walked in through the gates, my eyes automatically moved towards the flood of colour on either side — the “buildings” lining the walkway had their facades done up as iconic Bolly blockbusters, Sholay to Rock On!!, Amar Akbar Anthony  to Mera Naam Joker. 

Playing up the eyeball-grabbing facade are bits and pieces of Bombay meri jaan... from vada pav stalls to even a bright red Juhu juice bus. #Slurp

Fly away with me

A superhero fan? Head straight to ‘Hall of Heroes’, a giant ‘superhero museum’ that brings alive much-loved caped crusaders like G.One and Krrish. Ra.One: Unleashed makes G.One face off once again against nemesis Ra.One in a 4D multi-sensory virtual ride that plonks you — the fan — right in the middle of the action. Shah Rukh Khan, in Dubai last week to promote Raees, experienced the ride with his three-year-old son AbRam... and couldn’t stop praising it! And then there is Krrish: Hero’s Flight.  A 4D flying theatre ride, it’s a thrilling experience that enables you to ‘fly’ with Krrish as he battles to save earth from an alien invasion. Don’t know which one to go for? 
We suggest both.

Palace of dreams

What’s a Bolly experience without a Scheherazade-style palace? Bang in the middle of Bollywood Parks is the imposing Rajmahal, a huge white structure that looks like it could have been the setting for many an Arabian Nights tale. Sprawling both inside and outside, Rajmahal has a gigantic auditorium of 850-odd seats that hosts Broadway-styled song ’n’ dance shows every evening.

Currently playing is Jaan-e-Jigar, a Bolly-inspired musical extravaganza boasting kings and queens, fairies and temptresses, to keep you riveted for close to an hour. 

Planning a destination wedding? Rajmahal is open for private as well as corporate events.

 

Play with Bhuvan, hunt for Gabbar

Sholay and Lagaan — the two most iconic Hindi films in the last 40 years — find pride of place at Bollywood Parks. Head over to Lagaan Champaner Cricket Carnival to play a spot of cricket through a simulated ride called Lagaan: Thrill of Victory. The young ones need not feel left out — a mini rollercoaster ride called Bhuvan’s Wheel will bring on the giggles and chuckles. A Ferris wheel, a carousel and a carnival atmosphere, complete with tea and snack stalls and counters selling cute trinkets, make Lagaan a must visit.

A ‘kitne aadmi thhe’ shout away from Lagaan is Sholay, with the iconic Ramgarh Station housing an adrenaline-pumping ride called Hunt for Gabbar Singh. Set in the dark, this 3D interactive ride allows you to strap on a gun and go ‘bang bang’ at Gabbar and his daaku. The inaam may not be poore pachaas hazaar, but it does feel like a million bucks. On the way out, die-hard Sholay fans can hop on to the Jai-Veeru bike and go click-click. 

The other filmi fun spots: The Dabangg zone that boasts a stunt show, a live stage performance based on Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara  and Don, an immersive 3D media tunnel ride that gives you the feel of a motorbike chase. And don’t forget to take out a few minutes to head to the Victoria Station Cafe, built inside a life-sized replica of a Mumbai train — bite into a vada pav and have dancers do a Chaiyya chaiyya atop the train... yes, right over your head! 

 

Ride holly ride

The Bolly game may be super strong, but Dubai Parks & Resorts also has its Holly draws on point. MotionGate — housing games, rides and live shows from some of the best-loved Hollywood franchises — may not be as prolific as Universal Studios, but the hours you spend there will definitely be worth it. 

Divided into the Studio Central, Lionsgate, Columbia Pictures, Dreamworks and Smurfs Village, MotionGate is a total filmi experience.

With rollercoaster rides not really my thing, I headed over first to Hotel Transylvania (yes, I loved the film) to quickly find myself in a coffin-like ride exploring Dracula’s huge palace — 2,800 square metres is what I was told later — even as a scare (more giggle-worthy than goosebump-inducing) popped up at every corner.
Underworld — a 4D thrill ride — was next, and I had a blast sitting through the all-action multi-sensory experience right in the middle of a battle between Vampires and Lycans! 

For those looking for a trip that makes your intestines gag your throats, there is the Zombieland Blast Off where you strap yourself in for a ride that not only plunges you 58ft down... but also has a ‘zombie’ waiting to devour you at every corner!

Dil toh bachcha hai ji

Step into MotionGate and there’s no way you won’t spot the riot of red and yellow, blue and green, orange and pink — yes, the Smurfs houses! The 10-year-old in me did a quiet jig as I stepped into Smurfs Village Playhouse, a live animated show that gives fans from four to 40 a chance to interact with Brainy Smurf and the rest of the gang. This zone also houses Flint’s Imagination Lab — a play-area for the little ones fashioned after Fred Flintstone’s Imagination Lab, but where adults can pop in too for a dose of nostalgia. And yes, who can resist getting clicked with ‘Puss in Boots’ prancing around?

 

Happiness, block by block

If you can’t help yourself from going ‘Ooh’ and ‘Aah’ in Legoland — even if you are eight… plus 40 — then you aren’t alone! Sixty million Lego bricks have gone into fashioning structures both fun and famous. As you walk in, an iconic

Lego installation — that changes every season — will greet you. In December, it was Santa Claus on a sleigh, built from a slew of colourful Lego bricks. There’s a lot to photograph as you enter Legoland, but save the memory space on your phone for what waits inside. From Dubai’s biggest tourist 

Attractions — Burj Al Arab to Burj Khalifa — to the Seven Wonders of the World, including a replica of the Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Petra and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, there’s a visual delight to Instagram at every corner. We loved: an almost true-to-life Dubai airport — in Lego.

Dance, dance

MotionGate has a host of indoor shows to keep you engaged and entertained. King Julien’s Side Show Stomp featuring the Madagascar cast is a pop pick. We really enjoyed the Step Up Dubai, All In!, a high-energy live music and dance show inspired by the Step Up film series. No, Channing Tatum wasn’t around.

 

Pictures: Dubai Parks & Resorts and Priyanka Roy