Magic with make-up

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They are the unsung, behind-the-scenes heroes. Their work is seen, yet unseen in the movies, and Bollywood stars would literally lack lustre if not for the magic of their hands. Veteran make-up artiste Pandhari Juker (known to the industry as Pandhari Dada after the famous deity of Lord Vithal of Pandharpur) is active at 80.

Guru to most of the other respected make-up men of contemporary cinema like Deepak Sawant (best known as Amitabh Bachchan’s personal make-up expert), Mickey Contractor, Bharat Godambe and Vidyadhar Bhatte, Pandhari launched the Star Institute, which offers training courses for make-up artistes as well as beauticians. From Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol to Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala, it was the industry buzzword — ‘If you want a successful career in films, you should start only with Pandhari.’

“I was perhaps the first trained technician in this field,” recalls Juker. “When I joined V Shantaram’s Rajkamal Studios on February 4, 1949, I had no knowledge of what make-up in cinema meant and involved and I learnt on-the-job, assisting names like Baba Vardhan and Dada Paranjape. Then, K A Abbas packed me off to Russia for Pardesi. I stayed back for a year and underwent training at Mosfilm Studios, where I earned a diploma in make-up.”

Though Juker learnt a lot when working with British make-up whizkid Jimmy Vining on the colour film Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, his main tryst with fame came when he was summoned to give Meena Kumari a dark-complexioned look in the black-and-white film Char Dil Char Raahen, again made by Abbas. “It was a challenge to show someone with a dark skin in a black-and-white film,” says Juker. “Later, because of Nana Palsikar, the famous character artiste, I entered the portals of B R Films with the 1960 film, Kanoon, and I was associated with B R Choprasaab till Zameer and for the television epic Mahabharat.”

Long association with cinema

Juker had a 17-year association with Yash Chopra and long associations also with V Shantaram, Subhash Ghai, Ekta Kapoor and many others. “I did Hindi and Marathi films and television serials and some plays. I also worked on a couple of international projects,” says the veteran. At the peak of his career, Juker was even consulted for the film’s casting! “I was humbled when stars would come home, at my convenience, if I was busy. If necessary, they would even report at location at 5 am!” he recalls with a smile. “Amitabh Bachchan wore an artificial beard without removing it in Saat Hindustani for the entire shooting schedule in Goa because I could visit the location only once to fix it on him!” he adds.

However, Juker is not too impressed when foreign artistes are unduly given importance at the expense of Indian make-up aces. “Producers are willing to spend so much money on outsiders. When are they going to recognise our indigenous talent?” he asks. Juker credits a lot of filmmakers for giving his fraternity due importance and recalls Dilip Kumar giving “80 per cent of the credit to make-up artistes” for his success. Asks Juker, “What is a film, serial or play without make-up?
But, ironically, while there are no awards for make-up artistes, each and every person on stage at all award ceremonies needs make-up, right from the dancers to the hosts!”

His student Deepak Sawant, known as Amitabh Bachchan’s pet make-up man, however states that make-up men are getting their due now. However, Juker is clear that his tribe is well-paid. “I never had problems in that respect,” he says and goes on the add,  “I was given a lot of creative freedom.” Juker’s protégés have a near-monopoly in the field today — Mickey Contractor, Bharat Godambe, Vidyadhar, Pravin, Madan Mohan Bhatte, Vikram Gaekwad and Anil Devgiri among others.

Asked about the Maharashtrian grandslam, Juker says, “That was the case even earlier, even with other technical jobs in the industry. My most noteworthy contemporaries were Dinkar (Dinu) Indulkar and Ram Tipnis, both of whom have retired. Pereira was also a contemporary. Later, Sarosh Mody came in and achieved fame with Sanjeev Kumar’s films like Naya Din Nayi Raat.”

Vidyadhar states that with relationships scoring over training and expertise in getting work, a whole new breed of people are seen in the industry. “But they have technology that aids their work. Facilities like photoshop, colour correction and digital intermediate and VFX are at their disposal. We never need such things!”
About their own issues with modern technology, Vidyadhar notes, “Post-production of any kind is done within the four walls of a studio. People involved in post-production do not get to work with actors directly like we do! But they can enhance our work, sometimes, or correct a deficiency, like when we are not able to get the right natural lighting. But sometimes they can spoil our work too by colour-correcting everything except the artiste’s face!”  Bhatte states that lighter shades are generally employed for highlighting weak areas while dark shades contour and subdue features that are too prominent or unnecessarily sharp.

The make-up fraternity unanimously concedes that the advent of colour made things easier. “Earlier, we also had to compromise on quality of materials used. But now, we can lay our hands on the best cosmetic brands available in the market,” adds Bhatte, whose recent standout work includes Lage Raho Munna Bhai and Band Baaja Baaraat.

Juker explains how the use of a monitor while shooting allows errors to be detected and corrected immediately today. “Back then, we would never know about the errors till the final print was out!”

About the common belief that these make-up materials inflict damage on the skin, Bhatte asks, “How can they when they are layers that act as protectors?”  He points out how make-up used in showbiz is essentially the same as used by the common man. “The quantity is more and the layers are thicker because it has to last longer, that’s all.” About allergies, Deepak says that they are rare. “Rajesh Khanna’s skin was allergic, so he had to use very light make-up, if at all,” he reveals.

Make-up artistes in general prefer to handle a complete project or may work on specific actors. It not only constitutes what is known in film parlance as ‘greasepaint’, but also wigs, beards, hairstyling and prosthetics. Most of the veterans are experts in all these areas and they have worked with inspired ingenuity and are self-taught. “Shirdi Ke Sai Baba came at a time when there were no amenities,” Bhatte points out, “but the results were excellent all the same.”