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Madame Tussauds: ‘Super emotional’ journey

There are people in life you look up to as a role model or a source of inspiration, love and…

Madame Tussauds: ‘Super emotional’ journey

Marcel Kloos (R) posing with wax figure of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan

There are people in life you look up to as a role model or a source of inspiration, love and affection. Stars and celebrities hold such importance in the life of an individual. A fan would do anything to get a glimpse of his stars. Madame Tussauds in London, founded way back in 1835, caters to such emotions and make fans meet their stars, as close as they could imagine.

It's 2017, and with the new year, Merlin Entertainment's wax museum is ready to dazzle the capital city of India, as a part of its long and expanding journey.

"It's a super emotional process,” said Marcel Kloos, detailing the experience of an inspiring journey in an exclusive interview to thestatesman.com. Kloos is Merlin Entertainment’s Director of New Openings Europe & Emerging Markets.

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“First of all, we fix a meeting with the celebrity, which interestingly takes three-four hours. We take hundreds of measurements, checking the skin tone, eye colour and capture thousands of photographs. Celebrity has to stand there for ages in that mode,” Marcel explained the process. Its 23rd branch will open at Regal Cinema in Connaught Place here, in June 2017, 

“Then the artist goes back to our studio in London. They start with the clay, keeping all measurements in mind and build the whole figure out of it,” he added.

Marcel said emotions flow from here to there as both artists and celebrities feel much attachments with the wax figure.

“When the celebrity sees his statue for the first time, he turns very emotional. Imagine, that feeling when you can see yourself standing right in front of you and that's not in the mirror, you can touch and feel also.”

Talking about the artists, who have given their four-five months to craft the perfection out of clay, Marcel said, “It's emotional for our artists as well because there are 20 people, who has worked on a figure. Every single hand has crafted the clay to perfection.”

“Sometimes, it becomes difficult for them to let the statue go out of their hands to roam around the globe. But at the same time this is what makes them happy,” he added.

On the celebrities’ part, Marcel said it's best to see their first reactions when they see the final figure.

“Celebrities’ reactions are cute. It begins with laugh. They can't believe that a figure is standing right in front of themselves.”

The man behind launches, development and operational delivery of the wax attractions globally, Marcel strongly believes that Delhi fits Madame Tussauds perfectly and there could not be a better place than this for the venture in India.

“Personally, I am super excited to be here. I am so happy that news is out there and the response is so positive.

“The capital city has a special charm around the globe. Especially Delhi, with its diversity that fits Madame Tussaud's perfectly. You cannot only meet politicians or big leaders, you can also meet music stars. You can get a feeling how they look on stage. Likewise, you can meet sports and film stars. So this diversity makes Delhi a perfect deal,” he explained.

Tickets price hasn't been announced yet, as the management is waiting for the GST Bill to get cleared to take a final call on the entertainment tax.

However, Marcel said on behalf of Merlin Entertainment that their desire will be to make it affordable for every class of the society.

“We're looking into the matter to make it affordable for every class of the society. We want to be affordable to school kids also as these figures will educate them about leaders of the society and history makers,” he said.

During the launch of the Madame Tussauds Delhi, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan was the first wax statue that was unveiled.

"He (Amitabh) was the first Bollywood statue we ever made. Therefore, we wanted to bring him here first in Delhi. Also, he has a strong meaning for us at Madame Tussauds London as he attracted many visitors. People are flying to London or Singapore to get a glimpse of his statue. So he is a special figure for us,” Marcel said of the legendary actor.

When asked doesn't he fear someone will spoil the statue in excitement, Marcel burst out laughing, saying, “We're aware of that”.

“Our mission is to bring the celebrities closer to their fans. There won't be a barrier for visitors and they may touch and click selfies with the figure. Also, we'll be having a local team taking care of the figures.”

“We had a figure that was kissed to death by a girl. It was Justin Bieber. So, we have to redo the make up every now and then to maintain the quality,” Marcel recalled an incident.

The new international venture would also bring employment opportunities for the local artists here in India.

 “We will look for makeup artists, hair artistes and people with art background. Because there will be a lot of colouring and maintenance work needed,” Marcel said.

“Whenever someone gets over-excited, we will get back and redo the makeup to make it look like fresh again.”

Besides Amitabh Bachchan, there stood a statue of pop singer Lady Gaga and Madame Tussaud herself in action, making a wax statue. Revealing the inspiration behind that statue of Madame Tussaud, Marcel recounted the immense efforts of the single mother, who escaped the guillotine to create an international phenomenon.

“She gave us her surname. We thought it is the right moment to bring that statue here as we are entering a new venture, a new country, such a special country. So we wanted you to introduced to Madame Tussaud,” Marcel added with excitement over the opening of the wax museum in New Delhi, which was launched on January 12.

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