Creating boxing scars was challenging in 'Mary Kom': Make-up artist

Make-up artist Subhash Shinde, most popular for his work in "Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela", says creating boxing scars with prosthetic make-up in Priyanka Chopra-starrer "Mary Kom" was challenging as it required a lot of time and detailing.

"Mary Kom", based on Olympic bronze medallist boxer M.C. Mary Kom's life, is directed by Omung Kumar. It is slated for release Sep 5.

"This is the first time I've used prosthetic make-up in my work and one of the biggest challenges was to create the fight marks as realistic as possible. Every punch or scar needed to look real, change colour and age with time on screen," Shinde told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"A fresh punch is not the same after a few days. It changes even in a few hours. I had to take care of all that because at the end of the day, these marks shouldn't look like they were created using make-up. It ought to look original and I'm glad it has come out well," he said.

As part of his research, Shinde spent a lot of time in hospitals to understand from doctors more about injuries on skin.

"I wanted to see and understand how a particular injury/scar on skin changes over a period of time. So, I visited hospitals and even discussed with doctors. A punch is different from a bike fall, and both leave different types of marks on skin and they change with time," he said.

"I strongly believe that make-up is about bringing a screen character to life. These visits to the hospital helped me to make everything look very realistic," he added.

Known for giving actors a glamorous make-over in films such as "Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi" and "Patiala House", Shinde did trials too.

"We wanted to achieve a very bold look using prosthetic make-up. In order to achieve the real look that you'll see in the film, I had to do several trials before trying it on Priyanka. This process was time-consuming," he said.

Right from Priyanka's hair to her overall look, everything was achieved using prosthetics.

"Priyanka has very heavy hair. We had to completely cover her hair using prosthetics and create new hair for her. Nowhere in the posters and the trailer do you realise that all this was done using make-up. It all looks as though we've done threading to her real hair," he said.

Shinde says Priyanka was "extremely supportive and patient".

"We spent a lot of time on creating the fight marks because there are so many fights in the film. We would try it on Priyanka so many times and do it all over again several times. She never had a problem with the time we spent on finalising the look.

"She never asked me to rush. Of all the actors I've worked with so far in my career, Priyanka was the most supportive. I feel she's one of the few stars who doesn't mind going out of the way for a role. When you see the film, you'll appreciate her effort," he added.