Ram Charan initially rejected Madame Tussauds, till his dog Rhyme made him say yes: ‘She’s like a feisty daughter’

The back and forth went on long enough that the situation eventually landed in the hands of his wife, Upasana Kamineni Konidela. “Finally, in mild frustration, someone approached my wife Upasana,” he said. Upasana found a solution that cut straight through her husband’s reluctance. She told him that Rhyme, their beloved dog, could be included in the statue. “She knew that would get me to say yes, and it did,” Ram Charan said with characteristic honesty.

The detail is small but revealing. It says something about who Ram Charan is outside of the spotlight. For all the larger than life roles he plays on screen, the thing that pushed him over the line was not the prestige of being immortalised in wax. It was the chance to have his dog beside him.

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Once the decision was made, things moved quickly. “The very next month, I was in London giving measurements,” he said. And when he finally experienced the process up close, something shifted. “It was actually more meaningful for me,” he added.

To understand why Rhyme holds such a special place in the family, Ram Charan offered a glimpse into their life at home. He described the dog in terms most people reserve for a close family member. “She’s like a feisty daughter. Very, very conscious. She knows what she’s doing,” he said.

What followed was a moment that clearly stuck with him. Rhyme, he said, actively keeps his daughter Kaara away from the swimming pool. “She doesn’t let Kaara go near the swimming pool. I’ve seen this so many times. She actually blocks her,” Ram Charan said, the quiet pride in his words hard to miss.

Ram Charan’s wax statue at Madame Tussauds London marks a significant milestone, placing him among a select group of Indian actors to have been honoured by the iconic museum. His entry into that list, however, came with a story that is decidedly personal, one that his fans will likely find more endearing than any red carpet moment.