A wax statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unveiled at the West Bengal BJP headquarters in Kolkata on Thursday, September 17, marking his 76th birthday and 25 years in public service. The statue was crafted by Asansol-based sculptor Sushanta Roy and brought to Kolkata for the birthday observance.
Standing 5.7 feet tall, the statue was made from wax and iron and depicts Modi in a Bengali dhuti-kurta. Roy spent nearly two months working on the figure and said he had long wanted to create a wax statue of the Prime Minister.
According to reports, the statue travelled from Asansol to Kolkata ahead of the unveiling. Roy had initially hoped to present the figure directly to Modi, but official protocol prevented that from happening. The statue was subsequently brought to the BJP's Bengal headquarters, where it was unveiled under the supervision of state BJP president Samik Bhattacharya.
Roy said the statue was modelled on Modi's appearance at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi on May 4, following the party's victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections. The decision to dress the figure in traditional Bengali attire was intended to give it a distinct regional character.
Speaking at the unveiling, Bhattacharya said Modi's 25 years in administrative responsibility had been marked by what he described as efforts to take India to "new heights". His remarks came as the BJP organised programmes across the country to mark Modi's birthday and his 25 years in public life.
The celebrations beginning on September 17 are scheduled to continue for a month. Among the programmes planned is the lighting of earthen lamps across the country as part of the birthday observances.
Prime Minister Modi turned 76 on Thursday. The BJP has linked this year's celebrations not only to his birthday but also to the completion of 25 years of his public service, beginning with his tenure as Gujarat chief minister and continuing through his years as prime minister.
Who is Sushanta Roy, the Asansol sculptor behind PM Modi’s wax statue?
Sushanta Roy is an Asansol-based sculptor known for creating life-like wax figures of prominent political, cultural and sporting personalities. He has been making wax sculptures for decades and has created figures of personalities including Jyoti Basu, Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Amitabh Bachchan, Uttam Kumar, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Diego Maradona.
Roy, who trained in sculpture in Kolkata, was also a former employee of the Indian Museum. His interest in wax modelling led him to build a sizeable collection of life-size figures at his Asansol workshop. Earlier reports have described his work as comparable in concept to the wax figures displayed at Madame Tussauds.
Among his notable works is a wax figure of former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, which Roy created in 2003. He also created a wax statue of football legend Diego Maradona, which was brought from Asansol during Maradona's visit to Kolkata.
Roy has previously said that making a wax figure requires considerable preparation, beginning with the internal structure before the wax is applied. His sculptures have also incorporated props and clothing associated with the personalities they depict.
For the latest Narendra Modi wax statue, Roy spent nearly two months creating the 5.7-foot figure. The statue is made from wax and iron and depicts Modi wearing a Bengali dhuti-kurta. Roy told NDTV that he had long dreamed of making a wax statue of the Prime Minister.
The statue was transported from Asansol to Kolkata and unveiled at the West Bengal BJP headquarters on September 17, Modi's 76th birthday. Roy had initially hoped to personally present the statue to Modi, but the plan could not go ahead because of official protocol, following which it was brought to the BJP office for the unveiling.
