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Journalism of Courage
MADHU CHAUHAN, a 42-year-old homemaker and mother of 17-year-old Archana, accompanies her daughter for a hair treatment at a suburban Mumbai mall. While she8217;s there, she decides to try out a makeover at Christian Dior8217;s cornerside mini spa, Indulgence. Light-eyed, taut-skinned Chauhan is careful with her money, but a little indulgence is okay8212;there8217;s a kitty party later that afternoon. A bronzed make-up session later, Archana says her mum looks 8216;8216;wild8217;8217;.
Architect Poorva Lavate, who8217;s been witnessing the session a video camera transfers the live action onto a TV in the mall8217;s reception area, wants to give it a go too. The 24-year-old8217;s never had a makeover and doesn8217;t 8216;8216;even wear make-up as I have an acne problem8217;8217;. Her software engineer husband, Amit, waits patiently and watches adoringly as his homely-looking wife is quickly transformed into a glam-puss.
Suddenly, all of Mumbai and most of the country seems to want a new look, and makeover appears to be the new zeitgeist.
Even Jassi, the most popular woman on telly, wanted one. And her many thousand fans waited with bated breath, as the metal-mouthed, bespectacled ingenue shed her gawkiness for a softer, sophisticated avatar. All of which translates into spiking TRPs for the show. 8216;8216;It8217;s great that Jassi8217;s makeover is getting so much attention, I feel like getting one myself,8217;8217; says the serial8217;s producer Deeya Singh. 8216;8216;Makeovers are a great business, I want to open makeover parlours in Kurla and Bhayander Mumbai suburbs,8217;8217; she half-jokes.
Jassi8217;s tall TRPs have also ensured a large amount of sponsorship and product placements VLCC, Pantene, Singapore Tourism etc. 8216;8216;Or else, a makeover in Mauritius would8217;ve cost us a whopping amount,8217;8217; says Singh.
No wonder, a makeover has become the new mantra for media spin doctors. The 30-minute, 5-days-a-week secretary has sparked a series of style revamps. Indian Idol like Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin, it8217;s on Sony Entertainment had episodes dedicated to its shortlisted contestants8217; makeovers, right from clothes-shopping and hair colouring to poise and walk.
Meanwhile, Channel V8217;s Super Singer is already getting its line-up of contestants ready for the fairy wand. Star World8217;s ensuring they get their bit of 8216;makeover magic8217; too8212;the designing talent on reality show Lakme Fashion House is busy giving fashion-illiterates a revamp. And Zee8217;s Kareena Kareena, the channel8217;s only successful show, had the leading lady undergo one by popular demand.
The pull of a makeover is not lost on even sober business channels. NDTV Profit has a show called The Makeover where couples apply for a makeover and are taken through the whole gamut of revamped hairdos, wardrobe upgrades and make-up consultancy before being reunited at a restaurant, gleefully gushing over each other8217;s new looks.
8216;8216;The idea was for top executives who sit down with their families at the end of a day to watch some lifestyle programmes,8217;8217; says the channel8217;s head Vikram Chandra.
Devika Anand, who conceptualised and hosts the show, says, 8216;8216;Everyone knows how they look, but they all want to know how they can look better.8217;8217;
Often, it isn8217;t just the viewer8217;s curiosity that8217;s peaked, it8217;s the aspiration to look better. Most beauty companies will tell you that their best marketing tool isn8217;t a doublespread in fashion glossies, but makeover counters in India8217;s mushrooming malls.
Dior8217;s Indulgence, for example, offers free makeovers to walk-ins. 8216;8216;We makeover at least eight or nine women per day,8217;8217; says manager Sangeeta Sadel. 8216;8216;And most of them leave after buying one product at least.8217;8217;
8216;8216;The women who come here aren8217;t completely unaware,8217;8217; adds Sadel. 8216;8216;They8217;ve all worn make-up before and come here to try out new products.8217;8217;
Japanese make-up giant Shiseido has had makeover counters for four years in big city malls. 8216;8216;But the customers for makeovers in the last few months have increased tremendously,8217;8217; says brand manager Dinaz Jehani.
Just ask former beauty queen and model, now socialite and jewellery designer, and suddenly, makeover expert Queenie Dhody. Dhody, who8217;s given Jassi the overhaul, pens a fortnightly column for a Mumbai tabloid, which receives, she says, about 200 entries a fortnight. The chosen one then undergoes a whole rejig.
8216;8216;The women feel fantastic after I8217;m done with them,8217;8217; says Dhody, who8217;s been signed on by Channel V for the Super Singer makeovers. 8216;8216;I only transform them physically, but you have to see what it does to them emotionally.8217;8217;
Dhody recounts a recent re-do of a 55-year-old woman who said she detested looking in the mirror. 8216;8216;She looked much older than her years, but after we were through, even I couldn8217;t believe how good she looked,8217;8217; she adds.
The desire to look better cannot be a passing fad. 8216;8216;People have too much exposure now,8217;8217; says designer Manish Malhotra. 8216;8216;Look at what Indian Idol and Viva did. It8217;s changed the way people look at singers8212;even they look great, not just the actors.8217;8217; Malhotra has women coming to him and offering 8216;8216;whatever price8217;8217; for a makeover; for the brides who choose him for their wedding outfit, a makeover hairstyle, make-up and jewellery tips comes free.
Singh says emotional makeovers are far more crucial. 8216;8216;We make ourselves over every day. When we wake up in the morning and decide to go to work, it8217;s like an emotional makeover. And that8217;s more important.8217;8217;
Just rearranging your cupboard, says Malhotra, gives a fresh lease of life. So then, do new clothes make a new person? And does wearing lipstick change the way people look at you? Guess it does.
