14
Facts
and
Figures
centrespread
DECEMBER 06-12, 2015
LEADERS
INDIAN CONNECTION
CHAMBER
OF HORRORS
The Chamber of Horrors
or the ‘Separate Room’
includes wax heads made
from the death masks
of victims of the French
Revolution including
Marat, Robespierre, King
Louis XVI and Marie
Antoinette, who were
modelled by Marie
Tussaud herself at the
time of their deaths or
execution, and more recent
figures of murderers and
other notorious criminals.
Adolf Hitler
Hawley Harvey Crippen
Diereneuk and Barmouth
Charles Peace
Joseph Stalin
Genghis Khan
Jack the Ripper
Mahatma Gandhi was
the first Indian to be
immortalised in Madame
Tussauds in 1961. Other
Indian celebs in the
London museum include:
Indira Gandhi
Amitabh Bachchan
Shah Rukh Khan
Salman Khan
Sachin Tendulkar
The figure of Bollywood star
Shah Rukh Khan was the first
ever to receive a proposal
of marriage. A passionate
female fan travelled down
from Bradford shortly after
‘King Khan’s’ launch in
April 2007 just to present
his double with a diamond
engagement ring. She’s still
waiting for an answer!
One can step into the shoes
of the world’s most revered
and respected leaders
Nelson Mendela
Dalai Lama
Pope Francis
Barack Obama
David Cameron
Vladimir Putin
1.2 tonnes
of wax and $ 2,50,000 to make
each of Madame Tussaud’s wax figures
To add authenticity to the statues, many artifacts
have been donated by the celebrities
themselves or purchased from auctions
Two maintenance
teams inspect and
primp each figure
daily before the
museum opens
15
centrespread
It takes six months,
In order to create the exquisite details
of the wax sculptures, the artists need to
take around 250 measurements of
the person that they’re portraying. Queen
Elizabeth needed to model
Each strand of hair is inserted
individually, taking approximately
five weeks to complete each head.
The real human hair used on
figures — including beards,
moustaches and eyebrows —
needs regular shampooing
and styling
17 times
DECEMBER 06-12, 2015
SPORTS
Some of the legendary
sports personalities are
immortalised in the museum
Rafael Nadal
Serena Williams
Lewis Hamilton
Mohammad Ali
Usian Bolt
Did
You
Know..
The first overseas branch of Madame
Tussauds is in Amsterdam. It opened in
1970. There are six Madame Tussauds
branches in the US, along with six in
Europe, seven in Asia and one in Australia
MUSIC
Madame Tussauds
brings together
some of the most
iconic performers
in the field of
music, be it from
the past and or the
present
Michael Jackson
The Beatles
Bob Marley
Freddie Mercury
Lady Gaga
Beyonce
Amy Winehouse
Rihanna
Adele
One Direction
CULTURE
Tussauds houses some
of the world’s most
creative intellectuals,
geniuses, writers
and artists that have
shaped the world
William Shakespeare
Pablo Picasso
Charles Dickens
Anne Frank
Albert Einstein
The New York branch houses an
original self-portrait figure of
Madame Tussaud herself. It dates
back to 1842, when Madame
Tussaud created her own likeness in
her London studio when she was 81
FILM
:: Joyshree Baruah
Considered one of the most successful career women of the 19th
century, French artist Anne-Marie Tussaud was born on December 7,
1761. Starting with a job that involved making death masks of the
victims of guillotine, which were held up as revolutionary lags and
paraded through the streets of Paris during the French Revolution,
Tussaud went on to establish her first permanent exhibition in
London in 1835, before going on to found the Madame Tussauds
wax museum. The museum continues to top the must-watch list of
every tourist visiting London today, and hosts an array of waxworks
of various eminent figures, historical and current. From Hollywood
to Bollywood, the Royal Family to music legends, Madame Tussauds
houses over 300 lifelike wax figures in nine themed areas. And
New Delhi will soon join other Asian cities like Bangkok, Tokyo,
Shanghai and Beijing to have its very own Musuem; Vikram Bakshi,
the estranged partner of McDonald's in India, told ET Magazine that
the first Madame Tussauds museum in the sub-continent will open
in New Delhi in Connaught Place — over some 20,000 square feet
— in 2017. Merlin Entertainment, owners of Madame Tussauds, will
invest up to £50 million over 10 years with a view to bringing some
of its other brands like LEGOLAND, Discovery Centre and Sea Life
Aquarium into the country. Meanwhile, here are some of the most
famous wax-works of the museum’s varied themes:
Join Audrey Hepburn at
her “Tiffany’s” breakfast
table; or measure up to
the diminutive Charlie
Chaplin as his famous
little tramp character; or
take a ride to the moon
along with ET.
Marilyn Monroe
Steven Spielberg
Kate Winslet
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Marvel Superheroes
Tinkerbell