(From top)The Paris statue in the making. The model at Tussauds. (Below)Sculptor Stéphane Barret of the Grevin Museum takes Shah Rukh Khan’s measurements in 2007

London, April 27: Taking a couple of days off from cheering on his team, the Kolkata Knight Riders, in the IPL, Shah Rukh Khan will be in Paris tomorrow morning to unveil his waxwork model at the 126-year-old Grevin Museum in Grand Boulevard.

A statement from the Grevin, which calls itself “a temple devoted to the glory of history”, said: “The Indian actor, famous worldwide and an idol in his own country, has done us the great honour of travelling all the way from India for the unveiling of his waxwork image, created in the Grévin workshops.”

Actually, he will be travelling all the way from London where Shah Rukh, along with Salman Khan, Gulshan Grover, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor, entertained audiences yesterday in one of those “aashbo, dekhbo, khub paisha banabo re” Bollywood concerts.

Stéphane Barret, the Grevin sculptor who took Shah Rukh’s vital measurements with accurate callipers in London last year and scrutinised the star’s model at Madame Tussauds, jokingly told The Telegraph: “I think mine is better. But getting Shah Rukh’s expression right was very difficult.”

On hearing of Barret’s Gallic comment, Stephen Mansfield, the sculptor who did Shah Rukh at Madame Tussauds in 2007 and supervised the making of Salman Khan’s model earlier this year, laughed with English good humour.

Mansfield said: “I’d love to see his Shah Rukh.”

“Mine is very different,” clarified Barret.

No doubt, the two will eventually share a bottle of wine (French) to discuss the joys of working with Bollywood stars.

Shah Rukh will almost certainly be asked tomorrow which one he prefers and will have to think of a suitably diplomatic answer.

His wife, Gauri, who was with her husband when his model was unveiled in London in April, 2007, garlanded the waxwork and pronounced: “He’s better looking than you — I’m going to marry him.”

Shah Rukh, who is good at one liners, quipped: “The statue is more expressive than I am.”

The number of Indian visitors at Madame Tussauds, both from within the UK and from India, has shot up since the museum added Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai (who had then not married Abhishek) and the two Khans to its huge collection.

“Madame Tussauds has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Hindi film and Bollywood,” emphasised a Madame Tussauds spokesman.

Although the spokesman denied reports that Hrithik Roshan was next in line, he said: “Above all else, Bollywood is an immensely colourful, exciting and dynamic industry to work with and for many years now guest feedback has pointed toward Indian film stars and celebrities.”

Now, it is France’s turn to use the same powerful marketing logic, except to the French, Shah Rukh is not only a Bollywood icon but also just about the best ambassador for India.

Bollywood is nowhere near as big in France as it is in the UK but the move by Grevin should be valued as a gesture by the French towards strengthening links both with India and the Indian film industry. This makes up for almost the racist behaviour of the French government and industry when they opposed Lakshmi Mittal’s bid for Arcelor in 2006.

The unveiling follows on from on from last month’s historic Indo-French production of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed opera, Padmavati, at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.

“The event is organised in partnership with the Indian tour leader Cox and Kings, the Office de Tourisme in Paris and Maison de la France, the Hotel Meurice, the Commission des films d’Ile de France and Bodega Films,” the museum said. “They have all joined forces to give the Indian star the warmest of welcomes.”

The Grevin is coping well with SRK mania.

“Ever since the star made it officially known that he was coming to Paris to discover his likeness in the Grévin, the museum has been flooded with e-mails and telephone calls from France and the world over — everyone wanted to be present at the inauguration ceremony,” the museum admitted. “A gigantic fan club of unimagined proportions, the likes of which had not been seen since Michael Jackson entered the Grévin. Perhaps even more so!”

The only other Indian to be honoured by the Grevin is Mahatma Gandhi.

Whatever the museum may have heard of the erratic ways of Bollywood stars, the museum is taken with Shah Rukh’s impeccable behaviour. “At the single meeting organised in London last July, Shah Rukh Khan displayed a great deal of patience, curiosity and kindness in responding to all the questions and information required for the making of his waxwork figure: measurements; hair, skin and eye colours; casting of the hands, etc. He was much impressed by the meticulous attention to detail. At the end of the meeting, he insisted on giving us a private preview of extracts from Om Shanti Om.”

The process continued: “In November, photos of the clay model of his head were sent to him by e-mail for approval. Recently, Shah Ruhk Khan donated two outfits for his figure to wear, which the Maison de la France in Mumbai brought from India to Paris.”

The Grevin is now offering its version of “camera, lights, action”: “Starting on April 29th, the Grévin is happy to give all Shah Ruhk Khan’s fans a unique opportunity: be photographed at his side, an illusion turning into reality in the peerless Paris tourist attraction, the Grévin, where visitors can enjoy a privileged encounter with the celebrities of today and of all our yesterdays. Photo, please!”

As for the man himself, Shah Rukh probably realises that in marked contrast to his frequent visits to London, which has become as routine as Bandra, this time he is batting for India.