London 2012: Madame Tussauds

It used to be said about The Times,  London –   this was before Murdoch stepped in to muck up its reputation –   that no one in high places in Britain was considered truly dead  until an obituary appeared in The Times.

Of  Madame Tussauds  Punch once wrote :  No one can be considered properly popular unless he is admitted into the company of Madame Tussauds celebrities in Baker Street, London.

Among our celebrities  Tussauds   houses are Sachin Tendulkar,  Madhuri Dixit,   Shah Rukh Khan and  Amitabh Bachchan.  Indira Gandhi is there; her father Nehru isn’t.  I didn’t notice Mother Teresa  either.

Which makes one wonder what criteria the Tussauds adopt for including someone.  Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai were already there before Tussauds considered taking in  Madhuri Dixit –  the 6th Bollywood person to have figured at Tussauds.

You may not agree with their judgement,  but Tussauds, I believe,  factor in visitors’ suggestions before taking decision. At the exit, interested visitors can fill out a leaflet in which they can put in their choice of popular figures they  would like to see at Tussauds next. For all you know, they could do  bin Laden.  They have Hitler at  Tussauds.  It costs 150,000 pounds to put up a life-like wax model.