Madame Tussauds museum in London is one of the most visited landmarks in London and draws hordes of visitors every year. And one of its more popular sections is where our Bollywood celebrities reside. biggies).
Visitors, from across the world, love to pose for pictures with their favorite actors/actresses. Well, that’s the closest they can get to their favourite stars.
Where else you can get your picture clicked alongside a Bollywood great? Well, unless of course you produce a movie yourself and get these actors to play a part in it — distant dream for many.
So this is definitely the next best option!
Karan Johar first Indian filmmaker at Madam Tussauds, London
Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar, the man behind several blockbuster films (many with SRK), is the first Indian filmmaker to get his wax statue at Madam Tussauds in London.
Karan tweeted the news, sharing a picture of himself. In the picture, you can see a briefcase in one hand, wax imprint on the other, and a copy of his biography “An Unsuitable Boy” on the desk in front of him). He captioned the pic as, “Honoured to be the first filmmaker from India at the prestigious Madame Tussauds. Thank you to the entire team in London who worked tirelessly… Will have further details about when and where soon! Madame Tussauds.”
Honoured to be the first filmmaker from India at the prestigious @MadameTussauds …thank you to the entire team in London who worked tirelessly …will have further details about when and where soon!!! #MadameTussauds #iifamadametusaauds pic.twitter.com/pbLuVs3hER
— Karan Johar (@karanjohar) April 19, 2018
Karan Johar met the creative directors from the museum in London, where his measurements were taken.
Madame Tussauds London already has wax figures of Indian personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and others.
Latest Bollywood Celebrity to be Waxed at Madame Tussauds?
Another celebrity is in line to get himself waxed, and he’s none another than ‘Sonu Nigam’, the first non-actor who will get the honour.
Should Sonu Nigam have been the first Bollywood singer to get waxed? Is he a better choice over Kishore Kumar?
With due respect to Sonu Nigam, we know that he’s a fantastic singer, but if they had to chose a non-actor, and that too a singer, our vote would have gone to the legendary ‘Kishore Kumar’. Purely in terms of singing per se, one could argue that their were other singing greats like Mohd Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (and we agree). However, Kishore Kumar was not just a great singer, he’s among the greatest entertainers that Bollywood has ever produced.
Perhaps, they could have waxed Kishore Kumar first, and then Sonu Nigam? Or is it that The Madame Tussauds waxwork museum only take into consideration those who’re alive, which again is probably not the right thing to do, considering its a museum.
First Bollywood Actor to be Waxed at Madame Tussauds in London?
So can you guess who was the first Bollywood celebrity to be waxed at the Madame Tussauds in London?
Yes, it was none other than the Shahenshah of Bollywood, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan!
Amitabh Bachchan’s wax statue was setup in the museum in the year 2000, since then many more Bollywood celebrities have been waxed, as mentioned below.
Which Bollywood Stars You Can See?
Currently the museum houses the following Indian actors, famed for their work in Indian cinema.
The Sculptures Do Get a Revamp
These Bollywood sculptures do get a revamp once in a while, especially if some particular look of a Bollywood celebrity becomes very popular. That’s what happened in the case of Kareena Kapoor, after her Chammak Chalo look from the movie Ra.one became a rage. Post the success of the song, Kareena Kapoor’s sculpture got an outfit revamp. She’s now wearing a gold and red sari, which mirrors her outfit in the Chammak Chalo musical sequence in her movie Ra.one.
When Kareena Kapoor’s sculpture was first made, it featured black clothing with silver jewellery. But when Bebo herself dropped by at the London branch to see the sculpture, she suggested that the wax statue wore the red sari used in the Chammak Chalo song and even provided the new outfit for the statue.
“It was an honour to welcome Kareena Kapoor to Madame Tussauds London today to visit her redressed wax figure – particularly as Kareena donated the new outfit herself. Seeing Kareena alongside her figure was a real treat, and I know that fans who saw her today were delighted,” Madame Tussauds London general manager Ben Sweet commented earlier this week.
Katrina Kaif is another recent addition to this list. Katrina is the daughter of a British mother and a Kashmiri father.
How Do They Pick Up Bollywood Celebrities?
It seems Madame Tussauds museum usually run a poll asking people to pick a famous Bollywood face for them to represent in wax, and it helps them decide which Bollywood celebrity to chose next.
Once they have decided on a celebrity, Madame Tussauds waxwork experts measure and photograph the star (either they come over to London or the wax experts g to Mumbai to get the measurements). Its estimated that the sculptures cost anywhere around £150,000 to produce.
First Bollywood Movie Filmed at Madame Tussauds in London
Superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s upcoming film ‘Fan’ is the first Bollywood movie to have been filmed in London’s famous Madame Tussauds wax museum. The film supposedly explores the relationship between a celebrity and a fan, and as per sources, the significance of the museum has been aptly incorporated in the plot of the film. Yash Raj Films Studios, the producer of Fan, had painstakingly acquired the permission to shoot the film. Shah Rukh Khan tweeted about the interesting shooting schedule inside the museum.
Thanx Madame Tussauds. Allowing us 2 shoot Fan with all ‘ur’ stars & our star Maneesh. Very gracious of u. 1st film to shot at ur premises.
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) April 2, 2015
The Bollywood section at Madame Tussauds in London is one of the star attractions, and quite popular with the visitors. The fact that the management ensures new additions take place regularly indicate the popularity of our Bollywood stars. So although Bollywood might be thousands of miles away from London, it’s really well represented in London at the city’s Madame Tussauds museum.
Read: Madame Tussauds now in Delhi, India
Man pretends to be a Wax Work at Madame Tussauds, tourists stop to take selfies with him
A man from Cardiff (capital city of Wales) pretends to be a famous waxwork at Madame Tussauds, unsuspecting tourists take selfies with him.
Usama Shamsan, a young claims handler from Cardiff, impersonated one of the famous wax figurines on a trip to London.
Several unsuspecting tourists stopped to get photos and selfies with him, reports Wales Online.
“I didn’t have to stand there for long at all, it was literally minutes. As soon as I was still and the next person walked through the door, they would stop and take pictures and selfies with me. People genuinely thought I was a wax figure. They were touching my hand and poking my face.” said Usama, who posted about the incident on his social media accounts.
Here are the videos that Usama Shamsan posted.
