The house of wax that had closed its doors during the pandemic is now back in business with a fresh perspective and great expectations. Madame Tussauds India reopened at a new location – DLF Mall of India in Noida — on Tuesday, unveiling its wax figures from their earlier venue at Connaught Place.
Anshul Jain, CEO of Merlin Entertainments that has brought Madame Tussauds to India, said new figures will be added in October and the next year will also see more additions to their wax family.
Madame Tussauds at Connaught Place had shut down in 2020 during the pandemic. This gave the Merlin Entertainments’ team time to rethink their business plan. The wax figures, which have a shelf life of five-six decades or even more, were preserved for two years before they were brought to their new home.
“We had launched in India in 2017 and shut down in 2020. We realised that post-Covid, the behaviour of people will not be the same and safety and hygiene will be a priority. So, we opted for a new location. DLF Mall of India has a good footfall of 40,000-50,000 people as well as visitors from all the three belts -– Gurugram, Delhi and tier II and III cities of Uttar Pradesh — due to good connectivity from the eastern and the western highways. So, we chose a more controlled environment,” Jain said.
According to Jain, Merlin Entertainments has currently invested `70 crore in India, including the new venue’s cost. He is hopeful that with domestic and revenge tourism trends picking up, the new Madame Tussauds will see a V-shaped recovery in the next few years. “We are expecting a 30% hike in terms of the numbers we achieved in 2019. This will help recover our costs. Each figure takes up to `6-7 crore in terms of investment as about 20 artists work on each figure for months. The figures are made in London and the decision to wax a celebrity is based on feedback from fans and through talks with celebrities,” he said.
In terms of reinventing their museum, figures have been restyled and the overall look has been designed, keeping in mind the youth and children, as opposed to the previous theme on ‘Bharat’.
India has been a major market for Merlin Entertainments over the years.
Jain revealed that while the Indian subcontinent will have only one Madame Tussauds, India is a key market for them for business and the company is hoping to expand and is open to strategic alliances and partnerships with business houses. “Currently, the ratio of India to global figures is 60:40 and we would like it to be 70:30, going forward,” Jain said.
Manish Mehrotra, SVP & head of mall operations, DLF Shopping Malls, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with Madame Tussauds and aim to further expand the entertainment quotient at the mall. Our visitors will now have the opportunity to get up close and personal with their favourite personalities.”
The tickets for Madame Tussauds are priced at Rs 960 per adult. For children aged 4-11, the tickets are priced at Rs 760 and for those below three years of age, the entry is free of cost.