Pandhari Juker, painting success stories of Bollywood

Pandhari Juker or Dada as he is fondly called has a stream of students lined up at his Shivaji Park residence They are there to decode the magic he creates every time he picks up his makeup brush ldquoI may be 83yearsold but my hand doesnrsquot shake when I do makeuprdquo he saysJuker should be credited for making Yash Choprarsquos heroines look ethereal with his makeup In this picture he is working on Juhi Chawlarsquos makeup on the sets of Darr 1993In a career spanning six decades Pandhari Juker has witnessed several trends ldquoEarlier there were only a few products so we didnrsquot have many options There was no eyebrow pencil then so we would use the kajal pencil to shape a starrsquos eyebrows We could only use maroon lipstick as all other shades looked neutral on the screenrdquoHe is in regular touch with yesteryear actresses like Asha Parekh Waheeda Rehman and Jaya BachchanThis apart he is also credited with deftly crafting wigs fake moustaches beards and creating fake wrinkles remember Sudhir Dalvirsquos look in Shirdi Ke Sai Baba He recounts ldquoIt so happened that one day Dev Anand and Chetan Anand wanted me to create a lsquoBuddha lookrsquo for them Within a day I made a wig using a special net They were so happy with the result that they immediately paid me Rs 6500 for it Back home it was tough convincing my mother that I had not indulged in a mal practise to earn that exorbitant amount After all I was on a salary of just Rs 85 per monthrdquoHe is in regular touch with yesteryear actresses like Asha Parekh Waheeda Rehman and Jaya BachchanHis personal rapport with film stars also stood him in good stead Besides V Shantaram he is also known for working extensively with filmmakers like Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai He also shared a good rapport with the late Meena Kumari ldquoShe was a warm kindhearted personI often joined her for dinner on the sets She would also invite me for Iftar during Ramzaan She was extremely sad about not having a child thoughrdquo he remembersSimilarly Dada is all praises for Nutan He says ldquoShe needed minimal makeup and had a soft flawless complexion which was perfect for the screen Madhubala was beautiful but with makeup on Manisha Koirala is another natural beauty who needed little makeup in her heydays I fell in love with her complexion when I had to do her make up for Saudagar Among todayrsquos lot of actresses I find Katrina Kaif really beautifulrdquoIt would be interesting to note that Dilip Kumar once introduced him to the Nawab of Hyderabad as ldquohamare kartadhartardquo ldquoI was touched by his gesture We are what we are mainly because of these peoplerdquo he saysHaving worked with Amitabh Bachchan on many occasions Juker emphasises that Big B has achieved so much only due to his dedication to his craft ldquoFor his first film Saat Hindustani I had made him a beard which didnrsquot stick easily Gluing each strand of hair to his chin was a tedious process Since I had to go away for threetofour days he took pains to sleep and bathe in a fashion that did not disturb the beardrdquoHowever he also has some bitter memories ldquoI was very fond of Madhuri Dixit and knew how to highlight her features But on one occasion I reached a day late for her outdoor shoot as I had missed my flight Upon reaching the location her secretary Rikku Nath told me that I was not needed anymore because they had now hired another makeup man in my place I was very upset about this Despite being a veteran in the industry I had been turned down for such a trivial reasonrdquo he saysWhat does he have to say about the current crop of makeup artistes ldquoMost of them were my students Mickey Contractor was a dedicated student who trained under me for six to seven years Bharat Godambe was going through a tough periodmdashhe used to sell greeting cards to make a living before he came to me But now hersquos made a name for himself Vidyadhar Bhatte and Deepak Sawant Amitabh Bachchanrsquos present makeup man have also trained under me Their success makes me proudrdquoHe is all praise for the Indian makeup industry ldquoWhat is the need to look for talent abroad when we have so much of expertise within the country itself Foreign artistes were called from abroad to give Sanjay Dutt a bald look in Agneepath Amitabh Bachachanrsquos look in Paa could have been recreated in India instead of calling prosthetic artistes from Los AngelesrdquoDespite his experience in the film industry he is now content doing Marathi film and a few ad films Ask him why and he replies ldquoThere is no fun in working for Hindi films now Earlier we took on the whole movie as a project but now every artiste has hisher own makeup person In comparison Marathi films are more disciplinedrdquoWith his rich experience several awards and a successful makeup school to his name is there anything else he aspires to do ldquoAs per peoplersquos wishes I want to be conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award Besides that my other wish is to work till my last breathrdquo