- Imtiaz Alis Main Vaapas Aaunga has grossed over Rs 70 crore worldwide as a sleeper hit
- Naseeruddin Shah portrays a 95-year-old with dementia, requiring extensive prosthetics and makeup
- Soamaa Goswami created multiple aged looks for Vedang Raina's character from 19 to 55 years
Imtiaz Ali's Main Vaapas Aaunga has truly been the dark horse nobody expected, emerging into the kind of victory that it has. The term that has once again resurrected itself with this film is 'sleeper hit'. With strong word of mouth and a barrage of appreciation, the film has now grossed over Rs 70 crore worldwide, and it's no small feat.
Main Vaapas Aaunga bears the quintessential touch of an Imtiaz Ali film: a story of love and longing that goes deep beneath the surface, constant alternation of timelines, and complex storylines. The heartbreaking Partition-era love story was no different. What makes a film like this particularly interesting are the various looks that need to be created to convey authenticity across the character's passing phases.
Look designer and prosthetics artist Soamaa Goswami did exactly that here. She has had a prolific career in prosthetics, makeup and hair department for acclaimed projects such as Sam Bahadur, Subedaar, Daldal, and also has the highly anticipated Alpha in her lineup.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, she opened up about the hours behind making veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah to make them appear older than their real ages. She also spoke about collaborating with Imtiaz Ali after Amar Singh Chamkila and why it was a delight to curate looks for Vedang Raina and Sharvari.
Hours Behind The Perfection
Imtiaz Ali's brief to Soamaa Goswami was crisp and clear. Naseeruddin Shah plays Keenu, also known as Ishar Grewal, a 95-year-old bedridden man battling advanced dementia and a debilitating stroke. Yet his younger soul is trapped back in Sargodha and the ancestral home he had to part with during the 1947 Partition. Most importantly, his unfulfilled promise to his childhood sweetheart Jiya (Sharvari), whom he vowed to return to.
Soama Goswami tells NDTV, "When we did Naseer Sir's look, I had never seen him in a Sardar get-up. Imtiaz sir told me he is on his deathbed, 95, very frail. Naseer sir is 75, but still so good - he looks so good. So we did texturing on the face, added some wrinkles."
She continues, "Naseer Sir would sit for one and a half hours almost, but he used to sit patiently. Every day we took almost one hour. We did everything in Bombay in August. We started with him for 10 to 12 days. We finished and then he came to Punjab for one day. For these many days he was there definitely, and with a lot of patience; he used to be on time. He was never late on set."
Having a legend like Naseeruddin Shah on set, diligently sitting through hours of hair, make-up and prosthetics, is indeed admirable, as Soama Goswami expresses. She also gives a glimpse of the on-set environment for such an emotionally heavy film: the verdict was that Naseeruddin Shah was a thorough professional.
"He never cracks jokes while working. He doesn't like being disturbed. In between shots, if make-up needs a touch-up, do it; otherwise don't disturb," Soamaa Goswami adds.
She elaborates, "After the shoot he would chill, tell wonderful jokes and chat, but during work he was serious."
The Journey Through Ages
Recalling the passion and clarity with which Imtiaz Ali explained his vision, Soama Goswami remembers their initial conversation about the character arcs and looks.
"Imtiaz Ali began with Keenu, played by Vedang. He said he's the main character, and we are going to show him from a 19-year-old boy until fifty-five. After that, his elder character will be played by Naseer sir - that's a challenge," Soamaa Goswami recalls.
The prosthetics artist continues, explaining how she curated the many wigs needed for the gradual progression of ageing for Keenu and how Vedang Raina's facial features were analysed for proper fit.
"We met Vedang, and I observed his facial hair growth. I got the beards ready and the wig ready and, through trials, got it correct. For every stage - 17, 19, 25, then 35 and finally 55 - we did look tests. When I first saw him in the final look, it was spot on."
Working With Vedang Raina And Sharvari
Soamaa Goswami grew emotional as she spoke of how lovely Vedang Raina looked with his beard, turban and the entire costume put together by costume designer and stylist Sheetal Sharma.
Speaking of attention to detail, the prosthetics artist explains how she researched vintage pictures to study the stages of beard growth in Sikh men. With Sheetal's thoughtfully curated costumes, Vedang Raina's look as the young Keenu simply clicked.
For Sharvari, the brief was a girl from a well-educated Muslim family. Her make-up had to be minimal - that was key to her radiance.
"Very minimal, bare minimum, because she herself is so gorgeous. Jiya had to be like poetry, so we only used kajal. For hair texture, we needed a single tone, so she got her hair coloured. If you see retro heroines like Madhubala, they used to have a lot of texture in their hair; we tried to recreate that. They used many ribbons, so we used them in plaits."
A challenge arose when Sharvari's hair colour started shedding.
"So Sharvari was also shooting other projects where her hair was different and not period-appropriate, so by the end the colour started fading. She was very concerned about how we would manage. But colour spray and similar measures sorted it, because she did not want to colour her hair often."
And the rest is history: the meticulous preparation produced striking looks that became synonymous with the characters and their journeys in Main Vaapas Aaunga. The careful casting across age groups also worked wonderfully, making none of the appearances look forced. With a vision like that, prosthetics artist Soamaa Goswami added her touch to make Main Vaapas Aaunga the piece of art it turned out to be.
ALSO READ | Sharvari And Vedang Raina Watch Main Vaapas Aaunga With Fans: 'Some Stories Don't End When The Credits Roll'
