This year has been a great one for National Award-winning make-up, hair and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh. She started the year with the blockbuster success of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, where she created the looks for Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. The film received rave reviews, and the media went ga-ga especially over Ranveer’s look of the evil ruler Alauddin Khilji.

And just as the dust had settled over this controversial epic drama, came the touching and endearing looks of Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor, which Preetisheel curated for Umesh Shukla’s runaway hit 102 Not Out.

But it was this month that the makeover wiz had her hattrick clincher with Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk; a gripping take on Muslim patriotism in a Hindu-majority India. The film has not only made an indelible mark at the box-office, but has managed to effectively send out a fabulous and strong message of equality and brotherhood.

“This year has truly been a rollercoaster ride for me. Not only am I proud of having designed memorable looks for such lovely films, but am elated that our filmmakers are finally giving a lot of credence to make-up and prosthetic work in Bollywood,” beams Preetisheel, adding, “This is just the beginning.”

True that! Its undoubtedly a great time for the profession! And the talented lady’s career is going ahead full steam with new projects too. Preetisheel’s repertoire includes movies such as Housefull 3, Mom, the Tamil film 24, Brothers, Rangoon, Parched, Shivaay, Talwar, House Next Door, Haider, Ghayal Once Again, Finding Fanny, Hawaizaada as well as the pre-Mughal historical epic Nanak Shah Fakir, for which she won the ‘National Film Award for Best Makeup’.

Coming up next are more innovative looks she is designing for films like the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Thackeray, Atharvaa-starrer Boomerang, Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Andhadhun and John Abraham-starrer Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), in which the actor is reported to sport 18 different looks.

Not many are aware that the Iranian-born Elnaaz Norouzi who shot to fame with the recent Netflix series Sacred Games, was actually charmed by Shah Rukh Khan’s movies, which became the biggest reason for her to come to India.

“Iranians love India and Bollywood. But as I grew up, my relationship with Bollywood became more and more special as my mom and I would watch at least one Bollywood film every week,” quips Elnaaz.

“We were crazy about those romantic Shah Rukh Khan films and I fell in love with SRK and wanted to work in Bollywood after that,” she reminisces. “Even my dad is a big Bollywood fan, so watching Hindi films became a passion for me. I remember buying loads of Bollywood film DVDs and music albums in my childhood. I knew so many hit songs by heart, even without understanding the lyrics back then.”

Elnaaz’s luck shone as she actually landed in India and also got to work with her idol Shah Rukh Khan in two ads — one of Nerolac and the other of Fair and Handsome. “It was indeed a dream come true,” beams the Sacred Games star.

What’s more! By now, the newbie has perfected her Hindi diction too. Elnaaz is proud that she dubbed all her dialogues in Sacred Games, where she featured along with established stars Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series is based on Vikram Chandra’s critically-acclaimed novel by the same name.

A month before the release of the first season of the series, Elnaaz also featured opposite Punjabi heartthrob singer-composer Guru Randhawa in the super successful music video of the single Made In India released by T-Series.

When it comes to makeup and prosthetic designing, one name that rings the bell is that of Preetisheel Singh. She has designed Ranveer Singh’s terrifying look of Alauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmaavat. Also, his powerful look of Peshwa Bajirao in Bajirao Mastani. Preetisheel gave Nawazuddin Siddiqui a gawky look in the Sridevi-starrer Mom. And Ajay Devgan, an earthy look in Shivaay.

She gave Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor their ‘father and son’ looks for Umesh Shukla’s runaway hit 102 Not Out. What’s more! Preetisheel even created believable ghosts for the horror film House Next Door.

And now, the National Award-winning makeup, hair and prosthetic designer is all set to give audiences a feel of her patriotic touch. Her work will next be seen in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk where she has designed the unique look of Rishi Kapoor, who is playing a devout Muslim out to prove his love for the country.

“The best part about working with Rishi Sir is that he is always cheerful and encouraging,” quips Preetisheel. “When we begin work on his look, he admires the creativity like a child. His trust and blind faith always keeps me on my toes,” she adds.

Another patriotic film that the whiz is working on, is the John Abraham starrer Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), in which he is said to sport 18 different looks. Preetisheel remarks that “John is a very chilled out person. Initially, he is the inquisitive types, but once he knows we are on the right track, he gives full freedom to experiment with varied looks. This also puts more responsibility on me too and I feel more involved in my work.”

So Preetisheel has a lot of interesting projects to look forward to this year. And we have not even talked about Thackeray, Boomerang and Andhadhun here. That’s another story for another day.

“Bollywood once created supervillains like Mogambo (Mr India), Shakaal (Shaan) and Gabbar Singh (Sholay). These characters instilled fear in the minds of audiences. It’s been quite a while, and Bollywood seems to have forgotten the art of creating supervillains,” rues Alex Reece.

The British Hollywood actor who made his debut in Indian cinema this year, received acclaim for his role as the main villain in the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer Sajjan Singh Rangroot. Alex goes on to explain what makes negative characters tick. “More than romance, action or comedy, it is thrill that grips the mind of viewers. Don’t forget that fear is the strongest emotion a human being has. Even stronger than love.”

“Love can wane, but fear; it always stays. And it returns at an opportune moment in life. I am now waiting to see when that opportune moment returns to Bollywood — when the industry would again realize the importance of supervillains,” he adds.

Interesting thought that! After all, isn’t it the terrorizing nature of supervillains that also make the final victory of the hero — the victory of good over evil — all the more exciting.

For the uninitiated, Alex is also known for his appearance in a mega-budget James Bond commercial starring Daniel Craig. A self-confessed Bollywood buff, he is currently taking Hindi lessons and is preparing to exploit the void of villains in Bollywood.

When Elnaaz Norouzi made her Netflix debut with Sacred Games, little did she realize that controversy would not only follow the first Indian original series of the streaming giant in the form of political debates, but also engulf her character in the series.

Talks have been raging about how the characters played by Karan Wahi and Elnaaz in the series, bear resemblances to real life instances from megastar Salman Khan and his ex girlfriend Katrina Kaif’s life.

And though Elnaaz has clarified that she never felt or realised any such thing during the shooting and simply followed the script, the controversy refuses to die down.

Ironically, all the hype and buzz has done good for Elnaaz. The girl has started receiving offers from Bollywood. Undeniably, her role in Sacred Games has proved that she has the looks and talent, so it seems only a matter of time before she achieves more. And this makes her an interesting person to track.

Baby steps

Elnaaz hails from Iran and is charmed by the Indian entertainment industry. The actress has worked with Salman Khan in a Thumbs Up commercial and even on the Being Human ad campaign, apart from doing two prominent commercials with another megastar Shah Rukh Khan.

Glamour girl

The newbie has perfected her Hindi diction and has dubbed all her dialogues in Sacred Games, where she features along with established stars Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series is based on Vikram Chandra’s critically-acclaimed novel of the same name.

The series portrays Elnaaz in a bold role, and belonging to the big bad world of Bollywood with its myriad temptations. Her character of Zoya Mirza who is shown as a calculating actress, has a hidden past and a relationship with Mumbai’s powerful criminal overlord Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin), who wants to save her from an impending catastrophe. She is the only girl who survives in the first season of the series, and will now have a pivotal part to play in the second one.

Making it in India

A month ago, she also featured opposite Punjabi heartthrob singer-composer Guru Randhawa in the super successful music video of the single Made In India released by T-Series.

The Made In India video shot in Milan and Lake Como in Italy, has the chart-topping Guru wooing Elnaaz, with the lyrics praising her “worldly” beauty and describing how she looks “as if she is made in India.”

Beauty with brains

Though with her stunning looks and a figure to match, Elnaaz has much more to her. Well-read, intelligent and intellectual, she is fluent in seven languages — English, German, French, Urdu, Farsi, Hindi and Punjabi. She has also played the lead in a Punjabi film Khido Khundi.

Destination next

With a couple of film offers coming her way, it won’t be surprising if this stunner makes a grand impression on Bollywood next.

Actress Elnaaz Norouzi is surprised that there is a controversy about the characters of Karan Wahi and her in theNetflix series Sacred Games. The characters are alleged to have taken inspiration from real life incidents in Salman Khan and his ex-girlfriend Katrina Kaif’s real lives.

“While shooting the episodes, we never had any feeling like that and just followed the script which is based on the novel by Vikram Chandra. It’s surprising that now suddenly there is this controversy about it,” says Elnaaz.

Last week, Latestly website pointed out similarities in an article. “Karan Malhotra (played by Karan Wahi) is shown as a brattish, coke-snorting, abusive superstar with a huge ego who tries to control his girlfriend (Zoya Mirza played by Elnaaz Norouzi),” says the article.

“In a scene, the girlfriend tells a top cop that Karan had killed two men in a hit-n-run case. Now does that ring a bell? Moreover, the reason why he shows jealousy towards his girlfriend is that she has signed a film with Ranbir Kapoor(in the series),” writes Latestly.

“As for the girlfriend, who is a top actress herself, she is seen to hold a passport from a different country, and her origins are shown in the series as vague. Like Zoya, even Katrina’s nationality was under question once upon a time, as she was reported holding a British passport. There are also rumours that she has been lying about the fact that her father is Indian, and she is half-Kashmiri by birth,” adds the article.

Last week, amid a lot of hype and hoopla, Netflix released its first Indian original series Sacred Games which met with a relatively positive response, critically as well as with the masses. Starring Saif Ali Khan as a cop andNawazuddin Siddiqui as a don, it has the police officer stumbling upon clues given by the gangster, and going on a wild goose chase behind a foreign white guy smuggling ammunition into Mumbai.

This reminded us of another firang baddie — British Hollywood actor Alex Reece — who made a successful debut earlier this year with the Diljit Dosanjh film Sajjan Singh Rangroot.

We asked Alex, what he felt about Sacred Games. “In any project with a thrilling theme, the hero shines more if he has a negative force worthy of clashing with. In that sense, Sacred Games can surely build stronger characters for its negative leads,” remarked the Rangroot star.

Alex added that the series is “gripping” and hoped the second season will bring in more twists and turns, including “new villains.”

For the uninitiated, Alex Reece is also known for his appearance in a mega-budget James Bond commercial starring Daniel Craig. He is currently taking Hindi lessons and is planning to exploit the void of the “bura gora” (the white-skinned baddie) in Bollywood.

She belongs to the big bad world of Bollywood with its myriad temptations. The media surrounds her. Cameras go flash flash flash, as the actress enters the hall. Dressed in white, she makes a dazzling entry — looking radiant, rich, glamorous and brilliantly bewitching — all at the same time.

Who’s that girl wondered many as they saw the trailer of the first Indian Netflix original series Sacred Games. Now it can be told! The new glam girl is none other than Iranian stunner Elnaaz Norouzi who featured opposite singing sensation Guru Randhawa in the runaway hit music video Made In India released by T-Series a few days ago.

Coming week, she takes a leap playing a pivotal role in Sacred Games, starring prominent Bollywood stars Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte. The series revolves around dire circumstances in an intriguing world set in the dark underbelly of Mumbai; where politics, crime and passion come together in a deadly game of glitz, violence and revenge. It’s based on Vikram Chandra’s critically-acclaimed novel of the same name.

While Elnaaz is all set to be served hot by series-directors Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, she seems pretty chilled about it! “I play an actress named Zoya who is the love of Mumbai’s powerful criminal overlord Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin). It’s going to be good fun,” Elnaaz quips with a confident smile.

“I’m just taking some baby steps, testing my limits,” she winks. Oh! Oh oh! So girl, what’s the next step? Or should we say, baby step? Bollywood, we’re sure. Right? Gotcha!

Legendary composer-singer RD Burman has a legion of diehard fans worldwide. This week, they are celebrating his 79th birth anniversary.

To mark the occasion, Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award-winner and senior film journalist Chaitanya Padukonegifted his authored memoirs RD BurMania to the celebrated contemporary singer-actor Sonu Nigam.

The singing megastar who is well-known for his versatility, has also revealed some interesting behind-the-scenes facts in RD BurMania.

Receiving the book, Sonu became nostalgic and recalled the time he missed a chance to work with and sing under the baton of the maverick composer. “Around 1993, while I was an upcoming singer in my struggling phase, I’d returned to Delhi from Mumbai for a few months,” recalled Sonu.

“I later got to know that Panchamda (as Burman has been fondly known) was trying to frantically get in touch with me, as he wanted me to sing for 1942 – A Love Story. By the time I found out, the songs were already recorded inKumar Sanu-da’s voice.”

“When I eventually met Panchamda, he remembered another song of mine which was quite popular. I was humbled and delighted, but felt unfortunate to have missed a chance to work with him,” Sonu told Chaitanya. The author was moved when Sonu coaxed him to autograph the book before he gifted it to him.

It is often said that yoga is not an exercise, but a state of mind. The Bhagavad Gita describes it as a journey of the self, through the self, to the self. And santoor maestro Rahul Sharma’s latest single Yug O’ Vision proves that and much more.

Released by Times Music, Yug O’ Vision is not just a song — it’s an anthem dedicated to yoga — with foot-tapping soothing music composed by Rahul Sharma with the number sung with gusto by Siddharth Basrur.

What’s more! The song is composed in collaboration with the oldest yoga institute run by Dr Hansa Jaydev which is completing a landmark of 100 years. The video features Rahul Sharma performing on his santoor along with an electrifying dance performance by Barkha Sharma and students of the yoga institute.

The easy-listening number could not have got a more timely release than on the occasion of the International Yoga Day and World Music Day this week. Surely a track which would make our yog-practicing-and-propagating prime minister Narendra Modi and all Indians as well as international practitioners of yoga feel proud.