BEHIND THE SCENES

Dr Amod Doshi, Owner, Ovi Makeup Academy and a renowned prosthetic make-up artist, shares insights about his art and the growing demand for it.

My journey has been quite interesting. After my grade 10th exams, I enrolled myself in a 5-day acting workshop at the Natya Sanskar Academy. On the last day, we had a demo make-up class by celebrity make-up artist Vikram Gaikwad. I was amazed to see how realistic the prosthetic make-up looked, and this inspired me to venture into this field.

The make-up field does not have many structured courses. As a result, I enrolled in several diploma courses while working on my assignments and successfully earned a doctorate in the field.

Along with nine teams who were under my supervision, I appeared and passed the CIDESCO prosthetics examination, which took place in India for the first time.

During my initial work days, I did a lot of drama. I worked with actors such as Paresh Rawal, Aamir Khan, Boman Irani, Emraan Hashmi and many others. I also had the opportunity to work on numerous television shows with Balaji Telefilms, as well as famous reality shows like Dance India Dance, before slowly venturing into films.”

Overcoming challenges

"During my acting days, I ONCE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERGO PROSTHETIC MAKEUP and that instance fascinated and inspired me THEREFORE, I MADE A CAREER OUT OF IT"

“I vividly remember an encounter with Aamir Khan sir. While testing for the movie Fanaa, there was a discussion about him falling off a helicopter and sustaining a head injury that had to last for a month, according to the story. Maintaining that continuity was the real challenge. The entire make-up involved 17 stages, and I showed him every detail during the test. He appreciated every bit of it, even the minute prosthetics used for his hair. The whole 20-25 day schedule proved to be a great experience.” “There is more practical work involved in the field of prosthetics. I tend to have many available references, but I never replicate the same make-up as shown in them. The references are merely there to provide an idea. I blend my observations and studies to form a particular character in my head before I start the actual work. I also travelled to New York City for further professional development and conducted classes at my own academy in Dubai.”

Time management

“The adhesive used in prosthetic materials takes the longest to dry, making this process extremely time-consuming. Also, the make-up process is ongoing, layer by layer, as we strive for perfection. The working hours can be extreme, sometimes involving multiple sleepless nights. The materials are sampled and approved by us, the actors and directors. The schedule runs very tight, and because it’s a profession of monopoly, we keep getting projects back to back. Our shift timing depends on how much make-up a particular film requires. If constant finishing is required, like in an action movie, then we might start at 5 in the morning and continue until late in the night.”

Future trends

“In the future, silicone-based make-up will be used more than any other materials. Nowadays, whether it’s a web series or any violent action film, the demand for a natural look and natural make-up is higher. We need to do more realistic work and study the trends and materials accordingly. So, I feel practice is what is needed now.”

-As told to Priyanka Parshurami

Staying relevant

“There isn’t any specific brand or company available for prosthetic make-up yet. Only 1 out of 10 0 students wishes to get into the field of prosthetics as it is very niche. So, I personally prefer skin-friendly, alcohol-based materials only. Nowadays, silicone work is the most prevalent, but only a couple of brands manufacture it. Just like we keep our mobile phones updated, we need to keep abreast with the ever-changing industry trends in prosthetics.

Whenever a new material is introduced, we make sure that we ourselves try it first before applying it to any artist’s face. We take a lot of our inspiration from Hollywood for the latest trends. But due to low budgets in our industry, we stick to whatever is easily available.”