Aditya Dhar's directorial Dhurandhar, starring Ranveer Singh, has been receiving immense love since its theatrical release. Akshaye Khanna, who plays Rehman Dakait, is stealing the spotlight. His dance moves in the entry song FA9LA have gone viral on social media. Amid the buzz, the film's prosthetic and character designer Preetisheel Singh shared details into the transformation process for Ranveer and Akshaye's looks.
Speaking about Ranveer's look, Preetisheel explained the time and effort involved. She told Hollywood Reporter India, "Roughly, it would take 1.5 hours to prepare. If there was bloodwork, with scars and bruising, maybe two hours. But time was always of the essence. Over the years, in the film, his character grows his beard, and does not cut his hair, so I used a lot of extensions and wigs - for both beard and hair - because we were going back and forth between the looks while shooting."
She further elaborated on the creative approach behind Ranveer's transformation, saying, "Dhurandhar expands over a certain time period, and I wanted to track that journey from getting into the 'spy look', where he doesn't have access to money, doesn't even have a house to stay in, being on the streets, to entering the gang. I wanted to show the initial rugged rawness, where he is not grooming himself every day, with unkempt grungy hair, tied into a ponytail sometimes."
Preetisheel also spoke about her experience designing Akshaye Khanna's look, recalling her previous work with him.
"I did his look in Chhaava as well, turning him into Aurangzeb. Of course, he has a lot of experience working with wigs. I wanted to refrain from how he has already been shown and wanted his charisma to come across," said Preetisheel.
Akshaye got emotional after seeing his look as Rehman Dakait. The look also reminded Akshaye of his father, revealed Preetisheel.
She said, "There is a suaveness in his character, where his mere presence commands attention. He doesn't need to say much. I gave him soft waves, and we showed the receding hairline. It is not a full head of hair. I remember doing the trial, he was looking at himself in the mirror, telling me he was reminded of his late father, Vinod Khanna."
Dhurandhar was released on December 5 and has minted approximately Rs 180 crore in just six days.