The wax idol of Amitabh Bachchan, installed at Madame Tussauds in London, was flown down to Mumbai for the 46th Annual Filmfare Awards. Amitabh Bachchan, was the first ever Indian to be selected by the public for inclusion in Madame Tussaud's Gallery.

It was a dream come true for few people who were at Planet M, Victoria Terminus, and got a chance to pose with Amitabh Bachchan, not the man of flesh and blood, but atleast with his replica, which was installed at the outlet for few hours. Tourists, youngsters, children, women, all went bonkers when they saw and touched their dream man.

"It was a seven hour affair at the outlet, for which we had advertised in newspapers and had put up posters. Around 4500 people drooped in and all were aware that the wax model of Bachchan would be here for public view. People were a bit disappointed when they were restricted from touching the statue. What we enjoyed the most is that our sales went up", revealed Austin, Supervisor, Planet M.

The decision to install the bollywood icon in London, came in May 2000. A recognised giant in the Hindi Film industry, Amitabh's career spans three decades and with over 100 films under his belt, and today he is a Bollywood icon. Beating off four other top Bollywood stars, ShahRukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Raj Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh Bachchan came out with maximum votes.

To complete a single figure it might take around six months and in the making celebrities visits the private studio of Madame Tussaud's exhibition to have measurements and photographs taken which helps create a realistic wax replica. In recent years the development of audio-animatronics has enabled Madame Tussaud's to create 'moving' and 'talking' figures which feature in a spectacular ride called 'The Spirit of London' which opened in 1993.

The character's hands are always modelled from real life. The original modelling is done in clay, and a plaster 'negative' taken from which the wax version is cast. Eyes, makeup and real human hair are added by different experts. The models are then assembled and clothed by a wardrobe mistress. Many subjects have donated clothes for their likeness to enhance authenticity.

The concept of such an exhibition came in with Madame Tussaud, who was a French. Born in 1761, and learned the art of sculpting from her mother, who was a doctor and wax modeller. At the tender age of nineteen she was appointed art tutor to the sister of King Louis XVI and stayed at the Palace of Versailles until she was twenty-eight years old. She moved towards England, finally settling in London with her collection in 1835. The models were bequeathed to her two sons and in 1884 the exhibition moved to its present location in Marylebone Road.

Madame Tussaud's at Marylebone Road, is a place where your dreams come true. You can convert your fancy of rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous into reality. Anyone who's anyone from sports to film, politics to punishment are here, just for you, offering you a unique up-close-and-personal access to the hottest celebrities of the world.

By : Sharmistha Chakraborty

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