For a big Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday, Ajay Chhabra and his Nutkhut performance group have been chosen to depict the Commonwealth subject from a South Asian viewpoint.
To commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the UK-based Indian-origin actor is planning a unique Bollywood-themed Wedding Party outside Buckingham Palace in London, replete with a six-meter-high four-tiered cake and a specially created sari.
For a big Platinum Jubilee Pageant on Sunday, Ajay Chhabra and his Nutkhut performance group have been chosen to portray the Commonwealth theme from a South Asian viewpoint, one of the many highlights of the weekend commemorating the 96-year-old monarch’s 70 years on the British throne.
The 51-year-old actor based the centrepiece wedding cake on the Queen’s 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with each layer reflecting the monarch’s reign’s Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum Jubilees.
“My mother, who was nine years old at the time, welcomed the Queen to Fiji; a 10,000-mile voyage later, she and three generations of women in my family made London their home,” said Chhabra, an Indian-Fijian stage, television, and radio performer and producer.
“My daughter, now nine years old, will commemorate the occasion by taking part in our area of the Pageant for Her Royal Highness. This multigenerational family saga continues, “he stated
The Wedding Party was created in collaboration with fellow Nutkhut Artistic Director Simmy Gupta to celebrate the universal joy of families and communities joining through the coming together of two individuals.
“I am pleased to be selected to curate a piece of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, to honour the Queen’s 70 years on the reign, it is such a unique and uncommon opportunity,” said Gupta, who was born in Wolverhampton and comes from a working-class family.
“The Royal Household requested me to design a work for Buckingham Palace’s Ballroom a decade ago; to now bring this celebration to the streets of London with a varied collection of people from all walks of life is a remarkable moment in time. My grandma would be pleased with me, “she stated
The Wedding Party will feature 250 artists of all ages from London, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester, Southampton, and Newcastle, who will perform in an extravagant Bollywood manner.
The spirit of the Commonwealth, according to Nutkhut, will flow through the performance’s specially-designed Platinum Jubilee sari, which is made of sustainable organic cloth.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Nutkhut’s Simmy and Ajay. Their artistic vision and commitment to the community convey the spirit of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant on the international scale, “Adrian Evans, the Pageant Master, stated.
The Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which will take place on Sunday, June 5, as part of the UK’s extended Bank Holiday Weekend, which begins on June 2, will provide a chance for communities to commemorate a historic milestone as the first British monarch celebrates 70 years of royal service.
The four-day commemoration will feature public events, community activities, and times of reflection on the previous seven decades. The Wedding Party by Nutkhut will be a prominent part of the Pageant, which will wind its way from Westminster, along The Mall, and into Buckingham Palace in the heart of London, recounting the tale of a historic reign and the evolution of society during this time.
A military spectacular dubbed “For Queen and Country” and a lively exhibition titled “The Time of Our Lives,” complete with double-decker buses coated in specially created graphics, have been expressly commissioned to interpret key chapters of the tale in their own distinctive way.
