Filmmakers, especially directors have to make sure that their actors go into the skin of the character, and also look the part. That’s where makeup artists, Bollywood’s costume designers and other crew show their skills.
Sometime back Nargis Fakhri had said that actresses in Bollywood only have to look good, and unlike Hollywood they’re not usually offered something drastically different.
I guess that’s the reason make-up artists really love it, when they get to work on movies like Chhapaak, Fan, Mary Kom, as it gives them the opportunity to experiment and push their limits.
Acid Attack Survivor in Chhapaak
Deepika Padukone played an acid attack survivor in the movie Chhapaak. Deepika had to spend almost three to fours every day to get the makeup right, and even more time to get off the makeup and return to her normal look.
Deepika said that prosthetics are expensive and producers get charged per piece of prosthetics that the artist makes. It takes roughly about 2-3 days to prepare one piece.
But because the role impacted the actress a lot, she decided to burn a peice of prosthetics on the last day of the shoot.
“I literally had to burn the piece of prosthetics that I was wearing on the last day of the shoot. Because it impacted me in a way that I never experienced before. That was my way of trying at least to let go everything that I experienced,” said Deepika after the shoot got over. I remember taking the piece, taking some alcohol, went into a corner, poured the alcohol on it and set it on fire. I stood there watching it burn until it had disappeared completely in front of me.”
Read: When women could not work as makeup artists in Bollywood
Rajkummar Rao Old Look in Raabta
If you have watched the trailer of Raabta, its quite likely that you probably missed noticing Rajkummar Rao. Its because he’s playing a very old man in the movie – a 324-year-old man to be precise.
The idea of prosthetics making him completely unrecognisable excited Rajkummar as an actor. Insiders say that Rajkummar gave 16 look tests before the makers finalised the look he is donning in the movie.
And here is my Guest appearance from #Raabta. pic.twitter.com/AZaHryWX6a
— Rajkummar Rao (@RajkummarRao) April 21, 2017
A team from Los Angeles worked with Zuby Johal of Dirty Hands company to nail the look for the actor.
Rajkummar also worked on his body posture and voice modulation, besides wearing the right accessories, and even got the tattoos done for the character.
Read: Perks & Challenges of being a Bollywood Make-up Artist
SRK’s Young Look in Fan
In the movie ‘Fan’, the character of the young fan ‘Gaurav’ is played by SRK himself, but he doesn’t look like SRK at all. That’s the magic of prosthetics (in the hands of a talented makeup artist of-course).
To look the part of the younger fan, Shah Rukh Khan went through some rigorous make-up sessions, done by Hollywood make up genius Greg Cannom. VFX was later done by Red Chillies VFX team to make the look more realistic.
Watch: How Shah Rukh Khan Became The FAN – GAURAV.
Read: Here’s how Bollywood Celebs look without makeup
Rishi Kapoor’s Makeover in ‘Kapoor & Sons’ Cost Rs 2 Crore
Rishi Kapoor’s makeover in Kapoor & Sons was done by American artist Greg Cannom, who has worked on Titanic (1997), and was the man behind Brad Pitt’s flawless transformation in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008).
Rishi Kapoor Makeover In Kapoor & Sons Cost Rs 2 Crore | Make-up done by American artist Greg Cannom
Mary Kom
Make-up artist Subhash Shinde, who has worked on several big banner films before, is among the first make-up artists in India to use prosthetics in an Indian film (Mary Kom). And he’s really thankful to the filmmakers for the opportunity provided and believing in him.
Subhash says “It took two-three trials to get Priyanka’s (Chopra) bald look right, but she was very encouraging.” For the ‘wounded’ looks required for the boxing ring scenes, Subhash visited several hospitals to observe minute facial details to create a clear distinction between old and fresh wounds.
Till now, Indian filmmakers have always depended on foreign make-up artistes if the movie required special make-up. But in this Priyanka Chopra movie, the make-up man got an opportunity to showcase his talents and is hoping that he’ll be able to match up to Hollywood standards.
Dimple Kapadia Get a ‘Fake Bum’ & Belly
In Homi Adjania’s ‘Finding Fanny’, costume designers helped Dimple Kapadia get a ‘Fake Bum’ and also a fake belly, to make her suit the role better.
Checkout the trailer of the film to see her prominent fake bum. The graceful actress has not piled on those pounds over the years; its a prosthetic bottom.
Dimple was quite okay (in-fact encouraging) about the whole thing. In the movie, Dimple is wearing a fake bottom and stomach weighing around 20 kilos (that’s quite heavy) and she actually wanted it to be somewhere around 40 kilos. However the director ‘Homi’ thought they were really going over the top with that thing and decided to stick to the lighter version.
Dimple has been quite sporting about the ‘fake’ thing and was heard joking to everybody how she’s transformed from the sexy ‘Bobby’ to the old & fat Booba.
Finding Fanny was filmed in various villages across Goa.