The King of Bollywood is paying a special visit to Hollywood—in waxed form. According to a recent press release, Madame Tussauds unveiled international Bollywood sensation Shahrukh Khan’s wax figure today at its Hollywood location. The figure, which according to entertainmentandshowbiz.com reportedly cost $300,000 to make, will be available for viewing in Hollywood until April 30.
- Shahrukh Khan’s wax figure
Photo from madametussauds.com
Though this is not the first time a Bollywood actor has been immortalized in wax form at Madame Tussauds (nor is it the first time for Khan), it is a first for the Hollywood location. In fact, the Madame Tussauds in London already houses four Bollywood celebrities—Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan (my personal favorite), and Shahrukh Khan. So why does Khan now find his wax clone in Hollywood?
For Madame Tussauds, Khan’s wax figure is a great way to segue into the Asian community. Bollywood is huge! It is the biggest film industry in the world, shelling out an average of over 800 movies per year. In this industry, Khan is king. Recently Newsweek named Khan one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.
With the induction of his wax figure in London, Madame Tussauds noticed a dramatic increase in the number of Asian visitors. Maybe Madame Tussauds hopes for the same effect in Hollywood. To further encourage the Asian community to visit Madame Tussauds in Hollywood, the unveiling of Khan’s wax figure was accompanied by Ishaara, an Indian dance group that gained fame as contestants in “America’s Got Talent.” This is great publicity for Ishaara and another way for Madame Tussauds to appeal to the Asian community. Clearly, their publicists are doing their jobs.
- Ishaara with Shahrukh Khan’s wax figure
Photo from madametussauds.com
So what does Khan get from this deal? His camp gets a few publicity benefits from the wax figure. Khan is said to be dropping his next film, “My Name is Khan,” on Feb. 12. Is the proximity of the unveiling date to the film release date a coincidence or a carefully planned publicity tactic? I’ll go with the latter. The increased interest in Khan is probably going to translate into increased interested in his new movie. More interest equals more money at the box office. And isn’t that what every publicist wants for his or her movie star client?
