Come June 2017 and Delhiites will get a chance to click selfies with the wax statues of their favourite celebrities at the first Madame Tussauds museum. Team Viva reports
That people love to talk and know about other people is amply proved by the success of wax museums around the world and the crazy visitors who love to see replicas of celebrities cast in wax and get unlimited fan moments of posing for pictures without so much as a wrinkle on their skin or an upturned nose. little wonder then that selfie-crazy India is all set to join the bandwagon with the 23rd edition of Madame Tussauds opening in Delhi this June.
The first museum will come up at Delhi’s Connaught Place at the heritage building Regal Cinema, which once housed the famous Standard Sweets. In the first look of the museum, lifelike wax figures of Amitabh Bachchan, lady Gaga and Marie Tussaud were unveiled. The museum will open with 50 figures of which, 60 per cent of the figures will be local celebrities and rest global.
“Generally, we work on a 40:60 model, wherein 40 per cent figures are local and the rest are international, but Indian market is different, so we are working on a different model,” said Anshul Jain, General Manager, and Director, Merlin Entertainments India Private limited.
While the presence of many wax-form Indian celebrities is expected at the museum, Jain said that some new names might add in the list as per the response of the public. “The wax attraction will provide an immersive and exhilarating experience of the glittering world of renowned celebrities and personalities of the likes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar to glamourous divas like Kim Kardashian to the Indian audience. However, there might be add-ons as per the public response.” “Madame Tussauds has always had a significant appeal for the Indian consumers.
This is ever since the wax structure of Amitabh Bachchan was launched in the london museum in 2000,” said Marcel Kloos, Director New Openings Europe & Emerging Markets. Why did they choose Delhi and not Mumbai or any other cityIJ “The establishment is not just for the sake of entertainment but it also represents important personalities from different walks of life. So it was not necessary to open up at some entertainment hub or anything. And since it is the capital city, what place else could be betterIJ” he chuckled. Each wax figure is created with the expertise of over 20 international and local artists working at a time to ensure an authentic visitor experience worth in an excess of Rs1.5 crores each. looking to tap into the growing Indian market, the company plans to invest as much as 50 million pounds over the next decade in India.