Preetisheel Singh known for her makeup and prosthetics in Bollywood blockbusters such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore and Housefull 4 has begun 2021 with a bang in the Southern industry.

The National Award-winning look designer gets her first megahit of the year having curated varied unique character looks for Southern superstar Thalapathy Vijay for the Tamil megahit Master, which is one of the first films to release in theatres after the Coronavirus lockdown.

The film has smashed box-office records in the South to enter the 100 Crore Club at the worldwide box-office just within three days of its release, collecting a record Rs 50 crore plus at the Tamil Nadu box-office alone.

Successfully bringing audiences back to the theatres, it’s provided a ray of hope to all filmmakers, distributors and exhibitors across the nation. It opened stupendously in India even at 50 per cent occupancy, setting new benchmarks for all big Bollywood as well as Southern releases to follow this year.

Its mass appeal and mega success has attracted the attention of producers in Bollywood as well. According to a media report, the makers of Kabir Singh — Murad Khetani and Endemol Shine — have already bought the rights to the film at a hefty amount and are said to be planning its remake in Hindi.

It is not often that we see drastic and dramatic makeovers which stun us to the extent of giving us an ‘OMG’ feeling. So when one like that happens in the course of a short 45-second advertisement, it does surprise us.

One such advertisement happened this week when makeover wiz Preetisheel Singh turned a 10-year old girl into a 90-year old with makeup and prosthetics.

The National Award-winning character designer, Preetisheel carried out an elaborate look transformation on this little girl for a public initiative by Star TV network, promoting a cleaner, pollution-free tomorrow.

The short clip is all about bringing awareness to the bad quality of air we breathe in and how it ages our insides. And it’s been dealt with in a very smart and safe manner.

“What can happen if children continue to breathe this air? Drive one day less for #CleanAirEveryday,” prods the post accompanying it on social media. The advertisement urges us to hope and work at having cleaner, clearer air and less pollution in future.

For the record, Preetisheel has designed looks for a number of top artists in Bollywood’s box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4. Her other credits include movies such as Andhadhun, Thackeray, Shivaay, Haider, Hawaizaada, Rangoon, Brothers, Talwar, Finding Fanny, Parched, Mom, Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Malaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Raat Akeli Hai, Panga, Ujda Chaman, House Next Door, Bigil, Boomerang and 24.

Along with her work partner-husband Mark D’souza, Preetisheel has set up India’s first makeup and prosthetic lab called Da Makeup Lab in Mumbai. The talented lady is now preparing to launch the Preetisheel School of Character Design.

National Award-winning Preetisheel Singh who was recently featured among the top 5 makeup and prosthetic designers of the world, feels that the profession of makeup and prosthetics does not get its due at the various film awards in India.

“Forget getting its due, most film award events such as Filmfare Awards, Screen Awards, Zee Awards and IIFA do not even have a category for best makeup and prosthetic,” rues Preetisheel, who leads the look design scenario in India.

Preetisheel received the National Film Award for Best Makeup for the pre-Mughal historical epic Nanak Shah Fakir based on the life of Guru Nanak, wherein she designed the looks for all the characters in the movie.

“The National Award is probably the only one which acknowledges and encourages makeup and prosthetic personnel by having a National Film Award for Best Makeup category,” she remarks.

Preetisheel’s list of accomplishments is huge. She has designed looks for a number of top artists in Bollywood’s box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4.

Her look design for Ranveer Singh as the intimidating pre-Mughal era emperor Alauddin Khilji in the 2018 film Padmaavat was a rage. She also received widespread critical acclaim for designing the look for Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the 2019 film Thackeray;  the biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. She received rave reviews and special praise for the way Nawazuddin resembled Thackeray.

Her other credits include movies such as Andhadhun, Thackeray, Shivaay, Haider, Hawaizaada, Rangoon, Brothers, Talwar, Finding Fanny, Parched, Mom, Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Malaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Raat Akeli Hai, Panga, Ujda Chaman, House Next Door, Bigil, Boomerang and 24.