Da Makeup Lab | Moneynomical

Da Makeup Lab overwhelmed with excitement over Heeramandi

Shubham Sabharwal — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 02:57:08 +0000

Netflix subscribers and fans of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali are eagerly awaiting the release of his upcoming web-series Heeramandi. Bhansali, known for his grandeur and cinematic style is set to bring his signature flair to OTT with this series about the lives of courtesans in pre-independence India.

The streaming platform shared the teaser of Heeramandi with the caption, “Another time, another era, another magical world created by Sanjay Leela Bhansali we can’t wait to be a part of. Here is a glimpse into the beautiful and intriguing world of #Heeramandi. Coming soon!”

The excitement surrounding Heeramandi reached a fever pitch recently with the release of the first look teaser. It features a unique star cast, including Manisha Koirala, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Richa Chadha, Sharmin Segal and Sanjeeda Shaikh. The video provides a glimpse into the intricate and beautiful world that Bhansali has created.

A company that has had the privilege of working closely with Bhansali on this project is Da Makeup Lab. The studio, which specializes in makeup, hair and prosthetics, has collaborated with Bhansali on three of his films namely Gangubai Kathiawadi, Padmaavat and Bajirao Mastani.

The team at Da Makeup Lab could not contain their excitement after seeing the teaser for Heeramandi. Taking to Instagram, they shared a photo of some of the makeup and prosthetics they created for the series, along with a caption expressing their joy at being part of such an exciting project. The studio’s post on Instagram read, “The artistry of Sanjay Leela Bhansali combined with the grace of this cast, is an explosion we were not prepared for. We’ve loved designing these looks, hope you enjoy watching them too!”

Apart from the three prestigious projects with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Da Makeup Lab’s impressive portfolio also includes character designs for several successful movies such as Mom, Chhichhore, Bala, Mulk, Andhadhun, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Haider, Rangoon, Romeo Akbar Walter, Bachchhan Paandey, Bunty Aur Babli 2, Chup: Revenge of the Artist and Pushpa: The Rise. The lab is now working on Pushpa’s sequel titled Pushpa: The Rule.

Da Makeup Lab is headed by National Award-winning character designer Preetisheel Singh D’souza and her partner-husband, Mark D’souza and is based at the high-profile Versova locality of Mumbai.

Tough times in Bollywood end with spine-chilling Chup becoming a success

Shubham Sabharwal — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 20:46:45 +0000

Please note that we do not agree with promotion of violence in any kind, nor endorse any images on social media which might hurt reader sentiments.

It is no secret now that writer-director R.Balki’s film Chup: Revenge of the Artist has hit the bulls eye. One of the reasons Chup has resonated with the audiences (and the critics) is because it manages to send shivers down the viewer’s spine with its chilling killings.

For a suspenseful movie like this, it is very important to get the aesthetics of the gory killings shown in a believable and jaw-dropping manner.

‘Constructed murders’

In an interview, R.Balki says that “Unlike in most films, these are constructed murders. By that I mean, it’s about how I kill them. It’s almost a creation of art, murder as art. To do that you need an artist — not just a makeup person or a prosthetic person — but a person who truly understands.”

Of course none of the body-cutting and mutilating is real in the world of make believe. “Designing murders, something I’ve never done before, is as challenging as designing characters,” says National Award-winner Preetisheel Singh D’souza who has created all those cuts, slashes, bodies and organs you see in the movie.

Preetisheel explains that since there are different type of murders that happen in the film and every murder has a story, the murders had to be very clean, and done in an artistic manner to go with the subject of the film. They had to express the story behind them, she says.

The back story

Not many know that as part of the research of the film, Preetisheel and her team at Da Makeup Lab visited places like JJ Hospital, met up with some doctors and checked up on nitty-gritties about bodies, organs et al.

“In the film, we portrayed a lot of clean cuts, neck stabbing, normal kind of stabbing, we had a very elaborate silicon piece which went over the full body for a murder depiction at an art gallery. We also made a lot of body organs, like the heart and liver and a lot of intestines,” informs the makeup and prosthetic wiz.

R.Balki remarks, “I don’t have a reference to these kind of murders anywhere else. These are new murders that I thought of. So I told her (Preeetisheel) there will be no VFX on this particular film. I want to do everything live. And she’s done an incredible job.”

“Artistic murders — that’s the first time I’ve heard of something like that,” smiles Preetisheel, who thinks very highly about R.Balki as a creative filmmaker. Talking about the film, she adds that it’s a totally different masterpiece created by R.Balki and very different from his other films.

Da Makeup Lab hits bulls eye again

Preetisheel, along with her partner-husband Mark D’souza, runs the state-of-the-art hair, makeup and prosthetic studio Da Makeup Lab (DML) in the elite Versova locality of Mumbai. When it comes to makeup and prosthetics, many of the top filmmakers in Bollywood have relied upon her artistic work and character designs.

DML has provided its services for some of the who’s who in Bollywood, including superhit movies such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Housefull 4, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Pushpa: The Rise. The studio is now working on the sequel to Pushpa as well as the upcoming Shah Rukh Khan film Jawan.

Rave reviews

Meanwhile, Chup has been touted as a brutally honest and haunting psychological thriller from R.Balki. The narrative has its own beauty and the tight screenplay ensures that the audience is glued to the screens right from the word go. The interval block and the climax sequences have been hailed as top-notch. The serial killer and his various activities are depicted with a finesse that would make one’s skin crawl. Moreover, the references to maestro Guru Dutt’s yesteryear classic Kagaz Ke Phool are intertwined cleverly and very effectively with the narrative.

“It’s a strange mix that combines well. Gruesome, barbaric killings but also the bigger picture where cinema is a celebration,” writes veteran journalist and editor Bharathi Pradhan in her review on Leheren.

India Today’s review by Roktim Rajpal headlines it ‘Film critics, beware. You’re about to lose your organs.’ “Given the genre, violence is an integral part of the narrative. None of the scenes try to shock the audience,” it states, praising the movie.

However, film critic Saima Parveen makes a kinda contradictory statement in Maps of India when she writes, “The unique and exciting plot of the movie can attract the audience. The movie is watchable, but those who avoid violence should wait for another movie.”

“There’s a scene that closes the first half which sees him (the artist) kill one of his victims by slashing a specific artistic design into their body. In how it’s shot and performed, it’s a rare shining moment of gloriously unsettling violence…” says film reviewer Suchin Mehrotra in Hindustan Times.

It felt quite heavy, says Dulquer Salmaan

Even actor Dulquer Salmaan who plays the lead along with Sunny Deol and Shreya Dhanwanthary in this extraordinary R.Balki slasher-thriller says that he felt the murder scenes were “definitely disturbing.”

In an interview to The Telegraph, he remarks, “Every time I am slicing through somebody, it had to be convincing. And to make it convincing, I had to believe myself it was real. We clubbed all the murder scenes together and shot them in one go and that was the hardest for me. At that time, I didn’t want to meet anybody. I told all my friends I was on a break from meeting them. Also, in those scenes, I am speaking a lot and I had to memorise a lot of lines. During those days of shooting, it felt quite heavy.”

“But that was nothing compared to my co-actors who my character was slicing up. They had heavy make-up and prosthetics on and had to sit on set for hours. I would feel genuine concern for them.”

Attention to minor details

The prosthetic expert Preetisheel Singh D’souza says, “It’s been my privilege to work for this film. Balki Sir is a visionary and his style of film-making always brings something new to the table and touches the right chords with the audiences.”

“The bodies were an integral part of this film. Unlike the past, nowadays we are witness to a lot of stark realities that somehow land up on the internet. So if a film does not depict reality in a very believable manner, the audiences might find the scenes tacky. We paid a lot of attention to minor details when we designed the bodies and slasher cuts for the murder sequences in the movie,” she informs.

Mark D’souza adds that “Chup has finally got everyone including the critics, talking — that that too, positively. That means a lot for us at Da Makeup Lab. See, the film combines the suspense-thriller genre with romance and dark humour. When people come up and say that the murders were goosebump-inducing, it feels like such a big compliment for our efforts with prosthetics.”

Ah, indeed. The critics and even the audiences only have good things to say about Chup. The film has reached a benchmark for intelligent and intriguing film-making, and that says a lot for everyone associated with it.

Not to forget, it also marks a sort of revival for the Hindi film industry after the #BoycottBollywood trend, as it has emerged as the first successful flick after a lot of tough times the industry witnessed in the last few months.

Da Makeup Lab rolls like an unstoppable juggernaut

Shubham Sabharwal — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 02:57:29 +0000

The success streak of India’s No.1 hair, makeup and prosthetic studio Da Makeup Lab (DML) has been no less than amazing. The outfit, run by the National Award-winning character designer Preetisheel Singh D’souza along with her partner-husband Mark D’souza, is a state-of-the-art studio situated in the upmarket Mumbai suburbs of Versova.

DML has provided its services for some of the biggest box-office blockbusters including movies such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, Housefull 4, Bigil, Master, Gangubai Kathiawadi and Pushpa: The Rise.

But that doesn’t stop Team DML from constantly experimenting and upping the bar. Moving like an unstoppable juggernaut, the studio keeps creating and innovating at a pace like no other.

Check out the studio’s Instagram page and you will realize the quantity of unique projects they are working on. Here are a few from their monthly activities.

One of the most interesting things DML has done in recent times is the wounded warrior look of Shah Rukh Khan in the upcoming film Jawan. SRK’s unique character with his bandaged and bruised look in the teaser has definitely got fans excited and curious.

In fact, DML has designed all the characters for Jawan directed by the famous Atlee. This is also the first time the studio is working with Shah Rukh Khan.

Talking about variety of character designs, yet another interesting flick to watch out for, is Cobra. In this Tamil action-thriller, Southern superstar Chiyaan Vikram will be seen in many astonishing avatars designed by DML.

Even the new poster of Cobra is no less stunning. Sporting a retro avatar here, Vikram is seen adorning a funky printed shirt with suspender pants, stylish glasses and hair tied backwards, adding just the right amount of retro vibe to his overall ensemble.

DML recently created a stubbled look for Ranveer Singh for a quirky character of a salesman he plays in advertisements for the fish and meat delivery marketplace FreshToHome. Check one of the ads here:

But that’s not all. As a regular practice, DML keeps working on different experimental projects as a warming-up for the lab’s in-house team. And some of these projects are really interesting and intriguing. Like the creation of this cute silicone baby prop. It’s really fascinating to see how a mould is filled up, followed by the process of unveiling the prop.

A similar video about how a body double prop is created for movies. Just imagine the scenes in movies where such props come of immense use.

And last but not the least, is this scary prosthetic character of a tantric-turned-rakshasa created for Qayamat Ki Raat on Star Plus. As the Insta video caption goes, there is “terror in his eyes and evil in his bones!” You gotta see it to believe it.