An Asansol-based artist crafted a life-size wax statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo credit: X)
KOLKATA: A life-size wax statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, crafted over two months by Asansol-based artist Sushanta Roy, began its journey to Kolkata on Thursday, carrying with it the artist’s unfinished wish to personally present the creation to the PM on his 76th birthday.
He began making wax statues in 2001, when then West Bengal minister Subhash Chakraborty asked him to create a sculpture of former chief minister Jyoti Basu for the veteran communist leader’s birthday. Therefore, I had to work largely from photographs and information collected from different sources,” Roy said. Because they give the statue a particular character, “The clothes are important. The artist said he plans to make another statue of PM Modi for his own museum so that the public can see it.
The statue will instead be unveiled in Kolkata under the supervision of West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, news agency PTI reported. The sculptor has given the statue a Bengali touch by dressing PM Modi in a traditional dhoti and ‘panjabi’ (kurta), an attire the prime minister has worn during visits to West Bengal, PTI reported. For Roy, the PM statue is the latest in a career spanning more than two decades and featuring personalities from politics, cinema and sport, PTI reported. He has also created a small sculpture featuring Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he hopes to present to the prime minister personally. (With agency inputs) You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
I wanted people to be able to see my work, and to create something that I could personally gift the PM,” Roy told PTI. The artist said he deliberately timed the project around PM Modi’s birthday, hoping to meet him and present the statue as a personal tribute. Samik Bhattacharya has now told me that the statue will be inaugurated in Kolkata, so I am bringing it here,” Roy said. I have been told the party will try to ensure it eventually reaches the PM,” he said. Roy said he relied extensively on photographs and other information to achieve the likeness, as he could not personally take the prime minister’s measurements. “I carefully worked out his height, proportions and physique and tried to reproduce every detail as accurately as possible,” he said. I have brought a few panjabis with me and will use the one that is considered most suitable,” Roy said. Roy said particular attention was paid to PM’s hair and beard, with individual strands worked into the wax to make the figure appear as lifelike as possible.
Roy had hoped to hand over the statue to PM Modi himself, but government protocol prevented him from personally meeting the Prime Minister. The state BJP leadership has assured Roy that efforts would be made to send the statue to PM Modi after its inauguration. “I had made a statue of Modi ji several years ago for a museum in Jaipur. But, many people couldn’t see that. “I spent nearly two months working on it. Unfortunately, that could not materialise. “After the inauguration, I do not know where the statue will go. The statue has been crafted to replicate PM Modi’s height, physique, facial features, hair, beard and skin tone. “For a lifelike statue, ideally you need to see the person closely and take measurements. I had seen Modi ji when he came to Asansol, but only from a distance. The project brought Roy wider recognition and encouraged him to pursue wax sculpting professionally. Over the years, he has created statues of Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, football great Diego Maradona and former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly. His recent creation of a wax statue of Argentine football icon Lionel Messi also attracted attention. Roy has also built a wax museum at his residence in Asansol, along with a mirror palace where several of his creations are displayed. Visitors from different parts of West Bengal come to see the collection. Download the TOI App.
My wish was to stand before the prime minister and give it to him myself.