Painting them pretty for the finale

There were many who worked round-the-clock to make the closing ceremony a grand spectacle,and Vidya Tikari is one of them. In fact,she was the one responsible for making participants look pretty.

Delhi-based Tikari,who has worked her magic on some of the best known faces in Bollywood as well as the world of fashion for more than 19 years,was the person in charge of the closing ceremony on Thursday. “Well,it is a little unnerving as there are so many who have to look perfect. But I am sure we will do a great job of making the participants look wonderful today,” she said a couple of hours before she was scheduled to enter the green room and begin her bit. For the ceremony,her team of 90 worked for six hours at a stretch to make sure that India’s farewell spectacle does not get botched up by bad make-up.

“For me,this is an art and during big events like these,one sees faces. And it’s my job here to make sure that they look good. Everybody is different and one has to decide on the makeup in a matter of few seconds,” says Tikari,who was roped in by Wizcraft to groom approximately 5,000 faces that made an appearance at the grand closing ceremony. This included the men who were a part of the martial arts section called Agni,almost 2,000 school and college children who will dance to Vande Mataram,and the final section — ‘The Music of Universal Love’.

Though Tikari was also the one who handled the opening ceremony,she says this would be a bigger challenge as more people are involved. “But I am better prepared this time.”