‘Dhurandhar’: Here’s how Preetisheel Singh distinguished Ranveer Singh’s character Hazma Ali Mazari’s look from his Khilji avatar; ‘Cracking the hair was important’

Over the years, Ranveer Singh has played diverse roles on the big screen. Every time he comes on the 70MM, he not only leaves an impression with his performance but also with his distinguished looks. From playing the powerful, obsessive monarch Khilji to essaying the role of a spy under the name Hamza Ali Mazari in ‘Dhurandhar,’ his unique looks have always grabbed attention. And why wouldn’t they, as each of the looks builds his character, adds depth to his performance and takes hours of brainstorming sessions and efforts in the making. Even in ‘Dhurandhar,’ since Ranveer had the same long hair and brown eyes as Khilji in ‘Padmaavat,’ it was important for makeup and character design artist Preetisheel Singh to draw clear lines of distinction. In a recent interview, she shared how she was able to achieve the same by focusing on every minute detail.

Preetisheel Singh on designing Ranveer Singh’s character Hazma Ali Mazari

“Cracking the hair was important,” said Preetisheel Singh in conversation with The Hollywood Reporter. She added that she was trying to find that perfect balance which could ensure cinematic marvel and yet isn’t distracting, as Ranveer was “not a front and centre character in the first part.”

Highlighting that the movie’s plot expands over a certain period of time, she said, “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.”

Preetisheel worked on the texture of the hair, ensuring some greasiness as Ranveer’s character had to show rugged rawness through the looks. Explaining the same, she said, “he is not grooming himself every day, with unkempt, grungy hair, tied into a ponytail sometimes. You see that greasiness in the texture coming across. Texture is very important to me.”

She also shared how people had their doubts that Ranveer would look more like Khilji again because of a few resemblances. However, Singh made sure that the same doesn’t happen.

She said, “I even gave him freckles on his face and tanned his skin tone. This builds character. Everyone was initially apprehensive that he had long hair and brown eyes like Khilji, [his character in Padmaavat], and we didn’t want him to repeat that look. I told them not to worry, because I also did his Khilji look, so why would I repeat myself?”

It took around 1.5 hours and sometimes more to create Ranveer Singh’s look in ‘Dhurandhar’

Further, sharing on how much time it took to build the entire look, Preetisheel revealed that since they were going back and forth with the looks, it would sometimes take 1.5 hours or more, depending on the demand of the scene.

“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 mentioned, reflecting on the time and efforts invested in creating Ranveer Singh’s look in ‘Dhuranhdar.


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