The Delhi edition of the Madame Tussauds wax museum, slated to be launched by the end of this year, will be housed in the historic Regal building at Connaught Place here. It will be the 23rd edition of the Madame Tussauds globally, the others being in London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Shanghai, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, New York and Washington, among other places.
The Delhi edition of Madam Tussauds will have statues of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, among others. “The old association of New Delhi and London will be redefined in the light of modern global entertainment as the first and second floors of the Regal building, which recently saw the curtains coming down on the iconic Regal cinema, are being turned into the wax museum,” Anshul Jain, General Manager and Director, Merlin Entertainments India Pvt. Ltd, a company that runs the other editions of the Madame Tussauds wax museum worldwide, told The Sunday Guardian.
According to Jain, the Delhi edition of Madam Tussauds will be an attraction that truly captures the vibrancy and colours of India, featuring icons who have shaped the cultural landscape of the nation and the world. “The construction work for the museum is in full swing and we have a target to open it by the end of this year. The opening ceremony will be a grand event and we will invite celebrities across the board, from Bollywood, music and sports fields,” Jain said.
As per the company’s plans, initially, the statues of great Indian personalities will be made in London and only later will statues be made indigenously. The Delhi edition of the museum will initially have 50 figures. At a time, the museum will have the capacity to hold 500 visitors. “In order to give it an Indian touch, there will be more focus on local personalities than global stars. The entire theme will be based on the historic city of Delhi so that visitors may experience a unique connect. The museum will be unique in that it will create a meeting ground for tradition and modernity,” Jain said. Asked about prices of entry tickets for visitors, Jain said: “Since it will be among the foremost wax museums in the world, visitors from all walks of life would want to experience the unique attractions. So, we have kept ticket prices affordable for all classes. There will be special prices for school kids and groups. Once the museum opens, tickets will also be available online.”