Sunil Kandalloor's celebrity wax museum at Varsoli in Lonavala is home to 35 famous faces. Pose with your favourite, from Angelina Jolie, Sathya Sai Baba or Saddam Hussain. This desi version of Madame Tussauds is worth a dekko.
Sunil Kandalloor's celebrity wax museum at Varsoli in Lonavala is home to 35 famous faces. Pose with your favourite,u00a0from Angelina Jolie,u00a0Sathya Sai Baba oru00a0Saddam Hussain. This desi version of Madame Tussauds is worth a dekko.
When a closet celebrity buff like yours truly learns of a Celebrity Wax Museum, the reaction is that of instant curiosity and a feeling of overwhelming relief. After all, it suits the predicament of feeling self-conscious in front of celebrities yet craving to meet them face-to-face. Since the celebrity in question happens to be a wax idol, out goes the crippling fear. 
Spurred by the prospect, we set out, photographer in tow, on a drippy Saturday morning towards Lonavala.
The incessant downpour meant that our 2.5 hour-long bus journey ended up as a tiresome five-hour ordeal.
The breathtaking scenery and prospect of tucking into delicious locally-prepared chikki and fudge kept our gloom in check.
A 25-minute rickshaw ride from central Lonavala took us to the museum. From the outside, the Celebrity Wax Museum could have passed off for a cluster of sloping cottages except for a large signboard. 
Hall of fame
Post a brief introduction by the museum's young guides, you are free to walk through this 4,500 square feet space. Graced by 35 personalities, the reaction to the first sculpture at the entrance (Dr Balaji Tambe, Ayurvedic physician) set the mode for the rest of the tour. We were quite amused at how batches of tourists would draw close, stare for a bit to figure if it was a statue or a real-life standee! From there on, the incredulity seemed to vanish a tad and the scrutiny began in earnest. The man behind this wax wonderland is artist and sculptor Sunil Kandalloor. This is his third museum (he set up museums in Kerala and Kanyakumari) and is the first venture that is solely owned by him.
Kandalloor (38) is origi-nally from Allapuzha district in Kerala and earned his Diploma in Fine Arts in 1993. "I was a keen student of Realism and believed in depicting things in their natural form. Hence, for the next six years, I sat at home tinkering and trying to hone my wax-making skills. After a lot of trial and error, I was able to make such idols," he said. Kandalloor's first idol was a bust of Lord Krishna and a statue of former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran followed. He hasn't looked back since then.
Face off
Looking around, we noticed how several models were eerily life-like, Gandhiji in particular, down to his spectacles, charkha and the creases on his shawl. Shivaji, looking resplendent under his royal umbrella, Saddam Hussain on trial, Charlie Chaplin, Adolf Hitler, Michael Jackson, MS Subbulakshmi, AR Rahman and Mata Amritanandamayi (hugging saint Amma) were high on the popularity charts among those who wished to pose beside their favourite celebrity. However, some of the replicas were far from life-like (read: Angelina Jolie who resembled a B-grade Bhojpuri vixen and Jackie Shroff). Thankfully, placards in front of each model ensured the lesser life-like versions didn't go unnoticed. Kandalloor pays tribute to a sizeable chunk of South Indian celebrities including AR Rahman, R Madhavan (who had unveiled his statue) and Oscar Award-winning film technician Resul Pookutty.
Amid the melee, our photographer made an interesting observation. While most of the kids chose to pose alongside Swami Vivekananda and Mother Teresa, adults preferred to rub shoulders with Saddam and Michael Jackson.
The inside story
Each of Kandalloor's wax creations requires a month and costs Rs 1 lakh. The process involves meeting the individual and taking measurements, creating a clay model, making a mould for it and pouring wax, dyes and colour powder in it. The idols may or may not turn out as expected and the model is then discarded. "Wax is a very low-maintenance material. Once the statue is made, we have to take care that dust doesn't settle on it as it affects the composition. The temperature must remain constant between 53 degrees and 58 degrees Celsius to prevent cracks. If maintained well, these can last a lifetime," he believes.
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After the mould is made, the hair, eyeballs and teeth are manually made and added to each figure. "We use real hair, which I mostly source from contacts. The eyeballs also have to be made from scratch using glass, rubber and glue. Each tooth is individually carved from wax. We also emphasise on the complexion, so while for a foreign museum all Indians have the same shade of colour, in our museum, we ensure they are portrayed in the exact skin colour." Post this process Kandalloor tries to get the personalities to offer a piece of clothing from their wardrobe or else he organises for a tailor to stitch a suitably matched garment. Each idol weighs
20 kg only and can be dismantled into six parts for easy transportation.
Wax some more
Next up on Kandalloor's wish list is to meet, measure and create models of India's 1983-World Cup winning squad as well as members of the present team. Talks are also on with the Big B (Amitabh Bachchan) and his statue might grace the museum very soon. This apart, he intends to open a wax museum in Mumbai in the coming years.
While Kandalloor has never visited or been approached by Madame Tussaud's, he claims that he was approached by the Hollywood Wax Museum in the USA to work with them. "My work lies in India and I want to concentrate on our bevy of celebrities, so I never replied to that mail," he states.u00a0
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At: Varsoli Gaon, Lonavala.
Call: 0211 4277666 / 4323866
Log on to: https://www.celebrity/ waxmuseum.com
Entry Fee: Rs 100 per person
I take measurements of the person, including height, weight and complexion. I observe their personality and body language. Where that's not possible, I pore through books and surf the internet. At times, I request for their belongings to maintain originality.
- Sunil Kandalloor, artist
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