2016 video of Madame Tussauds artists measuring PM Modi for his wax statue goes viral with misleading claims

A video of Prime Minister Modi is going viral on social media, claiming that he has a dedicated, 24/7 grooming and image-management team from Western countries. This team, which includes stylists and beauticians, reportedly costs over ₹10 crore each month. The footage shows several individuals interacting with PM Modi. The caption of the post states, “As an Indian, do you know that Modi has an entire 24/7 grooming and image-management team hired from abroad, including stylists and beauticians from Italy and the West? The monthly expense reportedly crosses ₹10 crore.”

Let’s check the truth.

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Fact check:

 By closely analysing the video, one can see the name ‘Madame Tussauds’ on the makeup box at 0:03 seconds and the document bearing the title ‘Madame Tussauds’ at 0:08 seconds.

Based on these clues, we conducted further searches and found a YouTube video from 2016 featuring the Madame Tussauds London team taking body measurements of Modi for the creation of his wax statue. The description states, “Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has been involved in the creation of his figure and gave Madame Tussauds renowned artists a sitting at his residence in New Delhi earlier this year”.

This viral video actually shows artists from Madame Tussauds taking measurements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wax statue in 2016, not a foreign image-management team. The artists in the video are experts from the famous museum who visited his official residence to get accurate measurements and details.

A report published by The Indian Express on 16 March 2016 also carried screenshots from the same video and stated that Narendra Modi had given a sitting to artists and experts from Madame Tussauds for his wax statue. The report indicated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be added to the collection of notable global leaders at Madame Tussauds in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok next month, according to an announcement from the renowned wax museum.

A release published by Madame Tussauds on 28 April 2016 also featured Narendra Modi’s wax statue at Madame Tussauds London. His official lifelike wax figures, unveiled at Madame Tussauds museums in London, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Bangkok later that year.

So, the viral video is old, and it dates back to March 2016. The footage shows a formal sitting where experts from Madame Tussauds Singapore took precise measurements, hair samples, and eye colour matches from PM Modi.

This old behind-the-scenes video of a museum measurement session has been falsely shared as PM Modi’s foreign grooming or image-management session.

Conclusion

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the video to be Misleading. The video features artists from Madame Tussauds measuring PM Modi in 2016 for the creation of his wax statue.