Mahesh Babu on his wax statue, ‘Maharshi’ & more

The unveiling of Mahesh Babu’s wax figure, made for Madame Tussauds (Singapore), was on Monday unveiled at Hyderabad’s AMB Cinemas.  Besides the actor, his wife Namrata, and children Gautam-Sitara duo made it to the event.  The cost of the statue is three lakh US dollars.

Mahesh Babu took questions from the media calmly.  Here we bring you the highlights of what all the Superstar said on the occasion.

Did you ever imagine that this would happen?

Six years ago, I went to the London Madame Tussauds with my family.  My son clicked away the pics of all the wax statues.  That day, I hoped I will have a wax statue of my own one day. It’s like a dream come true today.  I thank the entire team of MT for making this possible.  Unveiling my own statue at my own Cinemas is a great moment.  It can’t get better than this.  My schedule was not permitting me to go to Singapore for the unveiling.  They were kind enough to come here.

What surprises you the most about the statue?

I didn’t know that the statue would be this detailed.  Even the colour of my skin, the size of my palm, etc – everything is so realistic.  Giving my measurements to the sculptors was an incredible process.  I would like to thank the entire team of sculptors.  It was a long process to give the measurements but their attention to detail stunned me.

Do you think the demand for selfies with you is going to go down since people would now want to take selfies with your wax figure instead?

(Smiles)  When people are going to take selfies with my statue, it’s like they are taking selfies with me.

Can we expect to see this statue in any of your future movies?

You won’t see this statue in any of my films.  You have to go to Singapore to see it.

How did your family and friends react when you first told them about this statue last year?

Everyone was excited.  My wife told me she is very happy.  They all feel honoured.  As I said, this gives me a sense of achievement.

Your wife just said that she feels she now has two husbands (referring to the statue).  What is your comment?

(Smiles) She only meant that there are like two Mahesh Babus now.

What is the inspiration behind the look of the statue?

The statue is inspired from my ‘Srimanthudu’ look.  The sculptors felt that it would be the most ideal one.  They brainstormed over a lot of pictures of mine and borrowed elements from the different pics.

Before the release of ‘Bharat Ane Nenu’, you went on a holiday with your family.  You were that confident.  What are you going to do before the release of ‘Maharshi’?

We are going to have a bigger holiday this time. I think it will be a sure-shot hit. I am excited about my film.  It’s my 25th film. And hopefully, it will be the biggest film, too.