Madame Tussaud's London on Wednesday announced that it will add a wax figure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to its collection of prominent global leaders at its museums in London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok by late April. PTI reported that Modi had done a sitting with the museum’s team of artists and experts at his New Delhi home earlier this year.
“Prime Minister Modi is a hugely important figure in world politics, a position supported by his place in the top 10 of Time Magazine’s Person of the Year List 2015,” said museum spokesperson Kieran Lancini. He said Modi has a massive social media presence, and the museum's decision was based on requests from guests.
“Madame Tussauds has crafted figures of very distinguished dignitaries from around the world — how could I regard myself worthy of being alongside them? But when I was informed that your decision had emanated from public opinion and public sentiment, I was comforted,” the PM had said to the museum.
Each figure took a team of Madame Tussauds’ artists four months and cost around 150,000 pounds to create. During Modi's UK visit in November 2015, the Merlin Entertainment PLC, which owns the museum, had announced that it will open a venture in New Delhi as part of the India-UK Year of Culture in 2017, reported the India Express. However, Delhi Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma said on Monday that his government has not received any such proposal, reported the Hindustan Times. In January, media reports had suggested that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was approached by the museum requesting him to accept its invitation “to be an esteemed waxwork figure at the new attraction in Delhi”.
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