Tussaud’s shortlists five, Madhuri makes it after all!

An Indian celluloid star is soon to be immortalised in wax at London’s Madame Tussaud’s museum, which has a collection of nearly 400 wax statues of eminent personalities. The shortlist has five names -- Amitabh Bachchan, Raj Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Shah Rukh Khan and surprise, surprise, Madhuri Dixit. Madhuri wasn’t on the list of six initially released to the press, as reported in SCREEN in previous issues. The final choice will be made after an opinion poll. Now, this is bound to perk up the spirits of the stars’ fans: those desirous of placing their votes are welcome to do so at www.madame-tussauds.com. Who knows, getting your icon ready for posterity, all in wax, of course, may be just a click of the mouse away. So, get cracking.

On a recent visit to Mumbai, Samantha Wade, an accounts manager for the museum told The Indian Express the museum adds 15 new statues every year, and in the wake of increasing requests from visitors to include Indian movie stars, it has decided to devote one statue to a popular Bollywood actor this year.

Prem Subramanium of the British Tourist Authority (BTA) revealed the decision on which star’s statue would grace the museum would be taken by a team of Madame Tussaud’s based on opinion polls and the forecast of the star’s continued popularity, and his/her universal appeal. On May 11, Madame Tussaud’s Diane Moon said the five Indian stars had been shortlisted after consultations with a panel of Indian movie buffs, trade pundits from film and entertainment magazines, community radio stations, the BBC, and the industry.

The museum says it will take up to six months to create the first statue of an Indian actor. Subramanium explains, "The star chosen has to agree to the same, and must give time for an extensive shoot in India." He adds the star will also be expected to participate in sittings for the statue-makers and will need to loan an appropriate costume for the same. The chosen one, Subramanium mentions, "must be prepared to come to the UK for the launch. Also, the star would have to be available if the wax model is transported to India for PR opportunities."