BOLLYWOOD USING POWER OF PROSTHETICS
The amazing look created for Rajkummar Rao has put the spotlight on this make-up art that allows filmmakers to go much farther with characters
Actor Rajkummar Rao’s recently revealed look (left) of a 324-year-old man in his next film, Raabta, has left everyone gaping. It has also brought back the focus on the use of prosthetics in cinema.
Other major films in which prosthetics were used to transform an actor’s look are Kapoor & Sons (2016; Rishi Kapoor turned into a very old grandfather) and Fan (2016; Shah Rukh Khan turned into a youth resembling himself). Perhaps the first time Indian audiences got a real taste of what prosthetics could do was with Paa (2009; Amitabh Bachchan turned into a school boy suffering from progeria).
“Using good prosthetics is about making your audience believe in what you’re trying to portray,” says Rajkummar.
Shakun Batra, director of Kapoor & Sons, says, “You can age people up or down, and that brings flexibility. Now we’ve realised how much [prosthetics] can contribute.”
Rajkummar’s look has been achieved using prosthetics by expert Zuby Johal and her team in Bengaluru. But a team was also flown in from Los Angeles to finalise the look.
“Prosthetics can be anything from a character make-up or an extensive makeover to make the person look like someone else. For character make-up, once the look test is done, it takes about three hours. For makeovers, we have to take the person’s cast, sculpt it, then again take the cast of the sculpting,” says prosthetic make-up expert Ritoo K Jenjani.
As for Bollywood’s tendency to hire international names, Nahush Pise, a prosthetic artist who has worked on films such as Dhoom 2 and Black, feels that they are preferred because “they have evolved from many years of experience in prosthetic makeup. It’s very expensive and when [filmmakers] want to spend the same amount of money, they think, ‘Why don’t we get someone from abroad?’”
But make-up artist Subhash Shinde feels it’s more of a trust issue and that local talent must be given a chance to show that they deliver, too.
THE COST OF EXTENSIVE PROSTHETIC MAKE-UP CAN BE HUGE. FOR INSTANCE, THE BILL FOR TRANSFORMING RISHI KAPOOR IN KAPOOR & SONS WAS REPORTEDLY `2 CRORE Using good prosthetics is about making your audience believe in what you’re trying to portray RAJKUMMAR RAO, ACTOR TURNED INTO 324-YEAROLD PERSON FOR A FILM Prosthetics can be anything from a character make-up or an extensive makeover to make the person look like someone else RITOO K JENJANI, PROSTHETIC MAKE-UP EXPERT