National Award-winning makeup and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh who has designed the looks for actors like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor, recently got to work with superstar Nagarjuna.
Starting off curating his look for a promo of Telugu Bigg Boss some time ago, she looks forward to work with him again. “Till last year, I was really looking forward to meeting Nagarjuna Sir, as I have grown up watching quite a few of his movies. When I finally did meet him, I found him to be such a warm and welcoming person,” says Preetisheel, complimenting the superstar who will be completing 35 years of his career next month.
“You wouldn’t expect such humility from a person of his stature but he is one of the most humble and grounded stars I have ever met. It was a pleasure working with him and I really hope that we work together again,” she adds.
For the record, Preetisheel Singh has earlier worked for many popular Bollywood films such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala, Andhadhun and Housefull 4. Along with her work partner-husband Mark D’souza, she has also set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab in Versova, Mumbai.
Makeup and prosthetic look designer Preetisheel Singh who created all the young and old looks for Chhichhore, feels Sushant Singh Rajput would have felt vindicated if he was alive today.
Congratulating Team Chhichhore on bagging the Best Film National Award, “There is hardly any bigger satisfaction to cherish for a creative people, than getting due recognition. The National Award has etched Chhichhore looks in public memory forever.”
Talking about Sushant Singh Rajput and his untimely demise, Preetisheel says, “He sure deserved much more and had a lot to achieve. This National Award for Chhichhore might have made him feel vindicated.”
In fact, Preetisheel herself won the National Award for her first film Nanak Shah Fakir. Apart from Chhichhore, she has earlier worked for huge box-offices successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4, and designed looks for many A-listers including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.
Preetisheel has also set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab at Versova, Mumbai. Her goal is to bring standards of makeup and prosthetics in India at par with Hollywood.
National Award-winning makeup and prosthetic look designer Preetisheel Singh, who recently created a transformational look for Ranbir Kapoor in the recent Asian Paints Ultima Protek advertisement, is super elated by the viewers’ positive response to it.
“It’s always a pleasure when your work is noticed and appreciated,” gushes Preetisheel. “Moreover, Ranbir’s exuberance is infectious and his dedication and passion for his work enduring. On the sets, he was always chilled out, a fun person to work with, ready to experiment with looks and super focused at his art,” she recalls.
Conceptualized by Ogilvy India, the quirky Asian Paints ad is directed by the renowned director Prasoon Pandey. It portrays the versatile Ranbir Kapoor in a never-seen-before avatar as a matchmaker, trying to find the right groom for an NRI girl as they travel through a town which takes housing lamination to the next level.
For the record, look designer Preetisheel Singh has earlier worked for huge box-offices successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4, and designed looks for most A-listers including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.
Preetisheel has also set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab at Versova. Her goal is to bring standards of makeup and prosthetic in India at par with Hollywood.
Recently, when veteran American politician Bernie Sanders was spotted by a lens man sitting in a corner during the inauguration of the new US president Joe Biden, the internet went berserk with viral memes revolving around his grumpy-looking picture.
And just when we thought all that hype had calmed down, we spotted our very own desi look designer Preetisheel Singh with Bernie Sanders on social media.
What’s more! Her pic with Bernie had her patting his scalp. Lol.
But on close inspection it turned out that Bernie’s pic with the prosthetic maverick was actually a new meme. Check out the pic and see how real it looks. Gee!
For the record, Preetisheel Singh is a National Award-winning makeup, hair and prosthetic wiz. She has also designed the look for Ranveer Singh in Padmaavat and is currently in the news for the look she has curated for Akshay Kumar in Bachchan Pandey.
She has worked for some of Bollywood’s huge hits including Bajirao Mastani, Chhichhore, Bala, 102 Not Out and Housefull 4.
Film sets new post-pandemic benchmarks for all big Bollywood and South releases to follow
Preetisheel Singh known for her makeup and prosthetics in Bollywood blockbusters such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore and Housefull 4 has begun 2021 with a bang in the Southern industry.
The National Award-winning look designer gets her first megahit of the year having curated varied unique character looks for Southern superstar Thalapathy Vijay for the Tamil megahit Master, which is one of the first films to release in theatres after the Coronavirus lockdown.
The film has smashed box-office records in the South to enter the 100 Crore Club at the worldwide box-office just within three days of its release, collecting a record Rs 50 crore plus at the Tamil Nadu box-office alone.
Successfully bringing audiences back to the theatres, it’s provided a ray of hope to all filmmakers, distributors and exhibitors across the nation. It opened stupendously in India even at 50 per cent occupancy, setting new benchmarks for all big Bollywood as well as Southern releases to follow this year.
Its mass appeal and mega success has attracted the attention of producers in Bollywood as well. According to a media report, the makers of Kabir Singh — Murad Khetani and Endemol Shine — have already bought the rights to the film at a hefty amount and are said to be planning its remake in Hindi.
Makeup and prosthetic look designer Preetisheel Singh may be the best in what she does. She may have worked with the who’s who of Bollywood including all the A-list actors such as Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.
But when it comes to compliments, she almost gets teary-eyed when she recalls a time she took her mom to meet the majestic filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
For the record, Preetisheel has done a hatrick with Bhansali, having worked for the awe-inspiring maker, first on looks of Ranveer Singh for the superhit Bajirao Mastani, then on looks of Ranveer (who can forget that Alauddin Khilji getup), Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra for another blockbuster Padmaavat. And she is working with the prolific filmmaker once again where she is curating Alia Bhatt’s look for his upcoming Gangubai Kathiawadi.
“Sanjay Sir is a gem of a person,” says Preetisheel. “He understands my work and gives me space,” she adds, stating that she has had some of her best experiences working for his movies. In a recent interview, Preetisheel recalled a time, when once she took her mom to meet Bhansali.
“When I took my mom to meet him, he told her — She (Preetisheel) does not need people like us. We need people like her!”
“Imagine how proud that made me. And imagine how proud my mom felt. It was one of the best moments of my career,” adds the look transformation wiz.
Today, Preetisheel Singh is a super-accomplished lady. The makeup, hair and prosthetics wiz who received a National Award for her work in Nanak Shah Fakir has worked with the who’s who of the industry, including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra and Ranveer Singh. The No. 1 look designer of Bollywood has been an integral part of huge box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4.
Recently, in an article in the famous Indian-American publication India West, Preetisheel revealed how she started out and how Kamal Haasan’s look of a woman in Chachi 420 inspired her to enter the world of makeup, hair and prosthetics. Here is an excerpt from the article by veteran journalist Rajiv Vijayakar:
Born to a Sikh family in Pathankot, Singh repeatedly calls her parents “brilliant” for their unconditional support and encouragement at all times. She exults, “After I completed my B. Tech. in Engineering (Electronics & Instrumentation) in 2004, I was hired by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), but I soon realized that I was not wired for such jobs. I was giving my 100 percent, but there was nothing standout that was really happening! I told my mom I wanted to quit, and she just said, ‘Do whatever makes you happy!’”
Her parents are film fanatics and that led to Singh being floored by the 1997 “Chachi 420.” “I was blown by Kamal Haasan’s look as a woman! I came to know that they had to call in foreign technicians for it. I also started digging online into what goes into such prosthetic make-up, initially only just for knowledge. And then I thought, ‘What if I myself do all this?’”
At that time, as luck would have it, TCS had posted her in the US, and Singh resigned, invested all her savings into an expensive six-month course at the Cinema Make-Up School in Los Angeles, and in 2010, arrived in Mumbai, putting up with her sister. She made strategic rounds of producers every day, with contacts derived from JustDial—the Indian search engine.
Predictably, the response was disheartening. Most filmmakers had no clue about her special skills and no requirements either because they did not understand how different she was from the average make-up artiste. But make-up veteran Anil Pemgirikar, who is 70-plus, saw her work, praised her and promised that he would put in a word for her wherever possible.
In 2012, came her first small assignment: of a swollen eye for Akshay Kumar in “Joker,” a film that went unnoticed by the audience. That portion was shot in Chandigarh, and then came the designing of the mutants in “Krrish 3,” under U.S.-based make-up whiz, Mike Stringer.
After finishing her work on the film, in which she helped on the mutants, the production person offered her peanuts as payment and Singh refused to accept the meager remuneration. The person was furious and demanded, “Who do you think you are? Miles Stringer?” Singh recalls, “I told her not to talk to me that way, I don’t owe her anything. But she went on shouting, so I went and told Mike. He got so furious he blasted the person, saying that without me, the mutants would not have been ready on time.”
Gradually, word-of-mouth spread and she got “Nanak Shah Fakir” and “Haider.” The former needed six months prep and she was given a bungalow where she set up a full lab. “I had to do aging for men, make someone’s face fat, show a leper, a chopped off part of a body and so on.”
India West, the numero uno publication for the Indian-American community in the US has featured India’s No.1 makeup and prosthetic wiz Preetisheel Singh, showering praises on her “exceptional innings” in Bollywood.
Giving references of Akshay Kumar’s character of Bala in Housefull 4, Ayushmann Khurrana as the hero in Bala, Sunny Singh in Ujda Chaman and many more, the article by veteran journalist Rajiv Vijayakar points out that look designer Preetisheel “specializes in making up the faces of those we know to look like someone we do not!” Adding that with Preetisheel, “it is not just about faces but the entire body, the persona.”
The article goes on to give more details. “Look at Bhumi Pednekar’s appearance as a dark and simple social worker in Bala and contrast her va-va-voom looks in Pati Patni Aur Woh and you know what Singh is up to in film after film. Remember also the plump body-suit of Maanvi Gagroo in Ujda Chaman.”
“The complete look design of every actor in Housefull 4 in the period portions and of every artiste in Chhichhore both in their 1990s youth and current middle-aged versions, the Tamil hit Bigil featuring Vijay in a dual role, and a treasury of past excellence in films as diverse as Bajirao Mastani, Shivaay, Padmaavat, 102 Not Out, Mulk and PM Narendra Modi shows that Singh is no ordinary achiever.”
“Exceptional innings in less than eight years sees Singh have no predecessor in Indian cinema,” the article analyses.
For the record, Preetisheel is a National Award-winner, having worked for huge box-offices successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4, and designed looks for all the A-listers including names like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor. What’s more! After conquering Bollywood, she is now exploring the Southern industry more and more.
It is not often that we see drastic and dramatic makeovers which stun us to the extent of giving us an ‘OMG’ feeling. So when one like that happens in the course of a short 45-second advertisement, it does surprise us.
One such advertisement happened this week when makeover wiz Preetisheel Singh turned a 10-year old girl into a 90-year old with makeup and prosthetics.
The National Award-winning character designer, Preetisheel carried out an elaborate look transformation on this little girl for a public initiative by Star TV network, promoting a cleaner, pollution-free tomorrow.
The short clip is all about bringing awareness to the bad quality of air we breathe in and how it ages our insides. And it’s been dealt with in a very smart and safe manner.
“What can happen if children continue to breathe this air? Drive one day less for #CleanAirEveryday,” prods the post accompanying it on social media. The advertisement urges us to hope and work at having cleaner, clearer air and less pollution in future.
For the record, Preetisheel has designed looks for a number of top artists in Bollywood’s box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4. Her other credits include movies such as Andhadhun, Thackeray, Shivaay, Haider, Hawaizaada, Rangoon, Brothers, Talwar, Finding Fanny, Parched, Mom, Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Malaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Raat Akeli Hai, Panga, Ujda Chaman, House Next Door, Bigil, Boomerang and 24.
Along with her work partner-husband Mark D’souza, Preetisheel has set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab in Mumbai. The talented lady is now preparing to launch the Preetisheel School of Character Design.
For quite some time National Award-winner Preetisheel Singh has been the leading makeup and prosthetic designer in Bollywood. From box-offices successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4, she has designed looks for all the A-listers including names like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Ayushmann Khurrana, Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor.
After conquering Bollywood, Preetisheel is now looking at exploring the Southern industry more and more. She has designed for movies such as 24, Boomerang and Bigil earlier, but is now gearing up to work with many other superstars of the South.
And the lineup of movies she’s been signed up for and working on, is stunning. Starting with South style icon Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa, there is Vikram-starrer Cobra, Thalapathy Vijay-starrer Master and Nagarjuna-starrer Wild Dog.
Preetisheel has even designed a grandfather look for Nagarjuna for the promo of Telugu Bigg Boss, and has also done an experimental bald look for Chiranjeevi which the actor posted on social media recently. The way she is exploring new avenues, looks like the makeover wiz is all set to give a whole new dimension to the world of make believe.
Meanwhile in Bollywood, Preetisheel’s work is about to be showcased in upcoming movies like Yash Raj Films’ Bunty Aur Babli 2, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi, the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Dhaakad and Bhansali Productions’ Tuesdays and Fridays.
“I am in awe of her talent, you guys. Seriously. Being a makeup lover, I can truly sense the burning passion she has and it makes me so happy to see her shine,” said Sonam Kapoor about India’s No.1 makeup and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh in a 10-part Instagram post this week. It received a whopping 32k likes in a day.
Sonam’s post is part of her famous Women of Film series and goes on to showcase Vivek Oberoi being transformed into the character of PM Narendra Modi for the film by the same name.
She also features some videos of the National Award-winning makeup and prosthetic designer, asking readers questions like, “Did you know, it took over 3-4 hours of makeup everyday for John Abraham’s look in Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW),” “Did you know, dentures for Amitabh Bachchan had to be created from scratch for 102 Not Out,” “Did you know, Nanak Shah Fakir was the film that won a National Award for Best Makeup, ” and “Did you also know, the woman behind this is @preetisheel.”
Sonam has also shared some videos of Preetisheel along with images of transformed looks of Ranveer Singh in Padmaavat, Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor in 102 Not Out and of Akshay Kumar in an old look for an advertisement, all curated by Preetisheel. Apart from this, Sonam has even shared a pic with Preetisheel receiving the National Award by former President Pranab Mukherjhee.
For the record, Preetisheel has designed looks for a number of top artists in Bollywood’s box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4. Her other credits include movies such as Andhadhun, Thackeray, Shivaay, Haider, Hawaizaada, Rangoon, Brothers, Talwar, Finding Fanny, Parched, Mom, Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Malaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Raat Akeli Hai, Panga, Ujda Chaman, House Next Door, Bigil, Boomerang and 24.
Along with her work partner-husband Mark D’souza, Preetisheel has set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab in Mumbai. The talented lady is now preparing to launch the Preetisheel School of Character Design.
Not many are aware that Bollywood’s No1 hair, makeup and prosthetic look designer Preetisheel Singh is crazy about pets and animals.
“Leave her in a zoo and she can forget me for a full day,” jokes her work partner and husband Mark Dsouza. Together, they run the premier studio Da Makeup lab in Versova, Mumbai, which has curated the looks for the topmost stars and films such as Padmaavat, Chhichhore, Bala, 102 Not Out, Thackeray and Housefull 4.
Put up at her hometown Pathankot during the Coronavirus lockdown, Preetisheel’s day begins with feeding cows and then stray dogs around her colony. Once in a while, even horses from a farm nearby.
“The lockdown has dealt a blow to all of us. But we humans are blessed with enhanced thinking and can find myriad ways of survival. But that is not the case with many animals. They don’t have the same luxury and depend on humans for food,” says Preetisheel.
“So just as we take care of our kin, it’s important to spare a thought, some love and food for their well-being too,” she adds. Her compassion is very touching indeed.
“The lockdown has dealt a blow to all of us. But we humans are blessed with enhanced thinking and can find myriad ways of survival. But that is not the case with many animals. They don’t have the same luxury and depend on humans for food,” says Preetisheel.