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Waxed for posterity!

Paran Balakrishnan

Madame Tussaud's, the famed waxworks museum in London, is holding an online poll to pick the most popular Bollywood star of all time. The winner will be immortalised in wax and will enter the museum's Hall Of Fame alongside the world's top celebrities.

Bollywood fans will be allowed to choose from five famous names, including actor-director Raj Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. The other three stars in the running are Shah Rukh Khan and screen heroines Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai. The winner of the online poll will be announced at the International Indian Film Awards ceremony to be held at London's Millennium Dome on June 24.

Says Madame Tussaud's' Diane Moon, "It is a double-first for us. It is our first Bollywood star and it's also the first time we've asked the public to choose a Madame Tussaud's subject in our 200 year old history."

Miss World Yukta Mookhey made an appearance at Madame Tussaud's to kick off the hunt for the most famous Bollywood star of past eras and the present. Mookhey, who will compere the IIFA awards show in June, makes no secret about her big screen ambitions, "I would love to be on screen."

Madame Tussaud's picked five stars for the online poll after an in-depth study of the industry. "We consulted a variety of pundits from film and entertainment magazines to community radio stations to the BBC and Bollywood insiders at B4U to come up with a representative shortlist," says Moon.

Bachchan received worldwide attention after topping the BBC's Actor of the Millennium Internet poll. He beat several other Hollywood stars including Marilyn Monroe, after Hindi movie fans from around the world rallied and voted for him.

Raj Kapoor was described by Madame Tussaud's as, 'a cross between Clarke Gable, Gary Cooper and Gregory Peck.' Despite the fact that Rai was a relative newcomer, she was picked because the museum felt she had the potential to become an all-time great.

Madame Tussaud's will take about six months to create a wax image and ensure that it is done to life-like perfection. Which means the winner will be on display only early next year.

Cast your vote
Madame Tussaud's

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