11 Bollywood Actor’s Who Donned Prosthetic Make-Up’s To Look The Part

The first time Shah Rukh Khan donned prosthetics for a film was Fan. Though Fan boasted of having Keitan Yadav, one of the biggest VFX artists on broad to develop the character of Gaurav Chandna, it was noted make-up artist, Greg Cannom who was the unsung hero. Greg Cannom got Shah Rukh sitting for almost four-five hours every day to get Gaurav’s look which involved taping up his face, attached fillers to his eyebrows, plumpers inserted in his mouth without disturbing Shah Rukh’s iconic dimples.

Prosthetic makeup artist and hair technician, Sjaan Gillings was specially roped by the makers of Dhoom 2 for Hrithik Roshan’s disguises he donned with the help of prosthetics. Be it a dwarf, old lady or old man, Hrithik just nailed it by donning multiple characters. That year he repeated using prosthetics in Krrish too when he had to play Rohit Mehra. To look the aged Rohit Mehra in Krrish 3 (and of course in the final stages of Krrish)he had to spend nearly four and half hours before getting ready to shoot the scene. To make those scenes look real, prosthetic expert, Mike Stringer of Lord of the Rings trilogy fame was flown in to do the make-up and prosthetics.

Amitabh Bachchan who played the role of a 12-year-old boy suffering from a rare genetic disorder called Progeria in the movie Paa had to don prosthetics to look the character. Though Big B was highly praised for his performance in the film and bagged all the popular awards that year, the real hero was make-up man Stephen Dupuis who made it happen and deserved all credit for the look in the film.

Director Manoj Agarwal made Govinda sport 11 get-ups in his comedy caper, Hadh Kardi Aapne where he played the father, mother, sister, grandmom, Chinese, Arab, Maharashtrian, Sardar, etc. Mohanty, Ramesh Mohate and Pradeep Premgirikar were credited for special makeup effects artist for this Govinda film. Though the efforts gone in for the prosthetics weren’t something to write home about but keeping Indian standards in mind they were laudable.

The master of disguises, Kamal Haasan is known for donning different getups to look the character. Two occasions straight away strike your mind where the veteran actor put on prosthetics – Hindustani and Chachi 420. The dubbed version of Tamil film Indian, Hindustani had him playing a veteran freedom fighter who turns a vigilante to uproot corruption. The producers engaged Hollywood make-up artists Michael Westmore and Michael Jones who worked on the looks of senior Kamal Haasan and his screen wife Sukanya in the film. This was followed by makeup artists - Barry R Koper, Karthik, and Michael Westmore transforming Kamal Haasan yet again in ‘Chachi 420’ where he played an aging nanny.

Rishi Kapoor who played a 90-year-old man in Shakun Batra’s Kapoor & Sons too had to don prosthetics to look his character and age in the film. The actor had to sit nearly five hours to get his prosthetic make-up done before the camera rolled. The make-up was done by American make-up artist Greg Cannom of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Titanic fame, for which the producers had to cough up a whopping Rs 2 crore to get the perfect look.

Tere Bin Laden: Dead or Alive saw actor Sikandar Kher playing dual roles that of American white skinned David Dosomething and the potbellied Punjabi Hollywood producer David Chaddha, respectively. The actor received praises for both his roles in the film but the prosthetics that he donned for David Dosomething’s character was something hard to recognize. His character was the only bright spot in this otherwise forgettable sequel.

This superhero film by debutant director Satyajit Bhatkal had Darsheel Safary playing the lead role but it was seasoned actor Anupam Kher’s dual act which grabbed the most attention. Anupam Kher played two different characters, Deshraj (Kunal's uncle) and Dr. Vivek Roy, for which he had to don prosthetics to look the part. The actor had to spend five hours in one sitting to get the right make-up for which a special make-up expert from France, Guillaume Castange and his team had to be flown in to get the right look.

I have to put on more makeup during 2.0’s filming than I have done in all my other films combined said, Akshay Kumar, during the promotions of the science fiction thriller. The Instagram video he posted on his timeline went viral. It took him three-and-a-half hours of intensive makeup and prosthetics each day to get his Pakshirajan look in 2.0 right. He had to spend another two-and-a-half hours to get it removed. He had to spend more than a month and a half for the shoot. His character deservedly received great praise and lauded as one of the highlights of the film. As the prosthetics are made to his measurements, the Khiladi star has to be on a liquid diet during that time.

The official remake of Tamil movie Poove Unakkaga (1996), Badhaai Ho Badhaai saw Anil Kapoor playing an obese guy who falls for Kirti Reddy. But, later transforms himself into a thin and lean guy to impress her. Anil Kapoor’s transformation from a thin to fat guy needed a lot of prosthetics, especially his face. Though Anil Kapoor worked very hard for the role but couldn’t get the cash registers ringing at the box-office.

Rajkummar Rao is the latest entrant to join the likes of Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan. Though Rajkummar doesn’t play the lead in Dinesh Vijan’s Raabta, it is Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon who will be holding center-stage, Rajkummar went almost unrecognizable when the first look of his character was revealed where he plays a tattooed man of 324 years. One is sure that Rajkummar Rao’s prosthetic makeup would’ve taken hours to make his character look believable.