LONDON: It may seem surprising, after the circus surrounding the trial of Michael Jackson on charges of child molestation, but there's a man in Britain who has spent thousands of pounds having surgery of various kinds so as to look more like him.
That man is called, simply, Navi, a one time Hindu, now born again Christian, from the East End of London, and as he said in an interview with Britain's Eastern Eye newspaper: "I have had several operations to enhance my features. My nose is not as defined as Michael's but I can get that with make-up. I have a friend who owns a surgery. In this industry you make a lot of friends".
Navi, 32, has dedicated 17 years of his life to following his idol and has often worked for the pop star as a decoy.
As he says: "Michael Jackson is the biggest name after Jesus Christ... Whether you live in a cave in Afghanistan or in a mansion in Canada, you know who he is".
But the decoy work has sometimes turned out a bit scary as Navi explained: "It's amazing but it's also frightening. I remember that in Thailand, I had 20 police escorts, 12 bodyguards, and 200 people running after me in a shopping mall and throwing themselves over security gates".
As a young man, Navi used to spend his evenings practising the trademark Jackson dance moves while his family slept, and, when he won a talent competition, he began looking for work as a Jackson look-alike. His father was by now resigned to his son's obsession, but nevertheless had said to him that if he didn't win that talent competition, then he must pack it all in, get his hair cut, and study.
Since then, and apart from the decoy work, Navi has performed at Indian weddings, bar mitzvahs, and has even sung at a funeral. He also proudly says that: "I've done four countries in four continents in eight days. If you've done that then you are bigger than some stars".
So what next? What, for example, if Navi should be married?
Well: "She would have to like Michael. If she said something about him, it would be like saying something about my family. If you love me, you must love something about my image, because everything I am has come from Michael".
What Michael thinks about all this is not recorded
