Saddam Hussein and Shah Rukh are the 18th and 19th residents of India’s first wax museum started in southern Tamil Nadu a year ago.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Legend has it that decapitated Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was always in the company of a few body doubles to confuse any ambusher. The strongman, however, has a soft avatar in a wax museum in Kanyakumari. Giving him company is our very own King Khan, SRK.
Saddam and Shah Rukh are the 18th and 19th residents of India’s first wax museum started in southern Tamil Nadu a year ago.
After adding local celebrities like Rajnikanth and Yesudas, the museum has roped in its first high-profile international replica in Saddam, which was unveiled by Kerala education minister MA Baby. The wax museum, attached to the Baywatch Amusement Park, has proved to be a crowd puller.
“We have guests from all over northern India. We get 800-1000 visitors daily. It’s a stimulus to our business. That’s why we are adding more replicas,” said Tomy Joseph, public relations officer of the park.
The increasing interest in the museum means that sculptor Sunil Kandalloor has his hands full. “Mother Teresa’s replica is ready to be unveiled this month. Amitabh Bachchan too is ready. The craft is easier now. I finished five statues in the last two months. I am looking for a diverse range of profiles to add to the museum’s collection,” the 34-year-old said. “Saddam has the sympathy of the whole world, except perhaps Bush. He would have still reigned had he compromised. Saddam’s death was the end of an era, but he has already become an icon of the Third World,” Sunil said of the inspiration for his latest work. Saddam has been cast as a roaring rebel clutching a Quran in his left hand.
Next on the list are “Fidel Castro and George Bush himself,” says Sunil, a diploma holder in fine arts. “In the coming months, replicas of actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and hollywood heart-throb Angelina Jolie will be added. I am collecting pictures from all angles to make my statues near-perfect.”
The park has invested more than Rs 15 lakh on the museum. “The idea is unique among amusement theme parks. The wax museum is our USP. So we will be doing whatever we can to promote it,” Joseph said.
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