The latest personality to be waxed for Madame Tussauds, Delhi, is Bollywood’s iconic beauty Madhubala. AKANKSHA SONI tells you what it takes to bring a wax figure to life at this prestigious museum facility
The first outlet of Madame Tussauds in India is all set to wow Delhiites when it opens for the public in the winter of this year at Regal Cinema, Connaught Place. The reason why they chose Delhi and not Mumbai is because they feel Madame Tussauds offer more than just a Bollywood experience.
The facility will encompass a host of national and international celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood and guests to Madame Tussauds will be encouraged to interact with them. In other words, an atmosphere will be created for a memorable experience.
Madame Tussauds will be an attraction that truly encapsulates the vibrancy and colour of India, featuring those who have shaped the popular culture landscape of the nation, and the world as a whole. Guests will experience meeting icons from a host of disciplines in a truly unique and immersive way.
Delhi will be Madame Tussauds 22nd attraction globally and there is a need to create new attraction and experience to raise the bar with not only the figure quality, but also the environment and technology used to bring the experience to life.
Guests who have been to Madame Tussauds in london experience a very different attraction when they visit the facility at Hollywood or Shanghai. The same will apply to Delhi which promises to be uniquely Indian which may one will not get anywhere else in the world.
The figurines will be of influential people from the fields of cinema, sports, politics and history. There will be a total of 50 figurines to start with, 60 per cent of them comprising Indian celebrities and 40 per cent from the rest of the world.
Amitabh Bachchan, Hritik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor have already been unveiled along with lady Gaga and Madame Anna Maria ‘Marie’ Tussauds who will be coming in soon.
The latest figurine to join the list is the evergreen and sensational Bollywood beauty Madhubala which was inaugurated by her sister at a gala evening the other day.
To wax each figurine is time consuming. It takes up to six months. All are manufactured in london at the main studio. A team of 10 people, including sculptors, molders, artistes, hair stylists (real hair is used) and fashion designers work on it to give these figurines the ultimate reality bite. The entire process takes a whole of six months. The wax used is a 50-50 combination of Japanese and Bee wax. Once the figure is ready, it is transported at the right temperature to its final destination.
Before the figures are made, the celebrity in question has to be present for measurements and the correct carving of features in the statue. For wax statues of those who have passed away, one has to rely on heavy research.
“When it came to Madhubala, we watched videos of her movies. We worked closely with her sister who was very helpful in giving us an insight into the star’s personality. It helped shape the figurine and ensured that her personality came through in the wax work. We really wanted to portray Madhubala’s iconic beauty and eyes as they were something she is known for,” Petra, Madame Tussauds studio specialist (london), explained.
The creators also worked hard to recreate the clothes that Madhubala had worn in her movies to better capture her measurements and style. The pose and clothes of the wax figurine at Tussauds that guests will get to see are from her iconic movie Mughal-E-Azam.
life-like statues are the USP of Madame Tussauds. As people are allowed to touch the figures, wear and tear of clothing will be unavoidable, so a team of curators will look after the figures constantly.
“We are working with personalities currently among us as well as on those who have departed. Visitors will get to see the most influential people from Bollywood, sports, politics and even global celebrities once Madame Tussauds, Delhi, opens,” Anshul Jain, general manager and director, Merlin Entertainments India Pvt ltd, which has the franchise of Madame Tussauds, says.
The ticketing to the venue is yet to be decided as the new GST change will affect the pricing. However, the organisers aim to make the experience affordable and will also initiate special discounts for students.