Bollywood does not need the caked, decked out leading lady anymore. It’s now making space for the common, working girl. And to adapt to that image, a number of A-grade heroines are shedding heavy makeup, and going de-glam.
Case in point, Deepika Padukone’s simple, kurta-bindi look in Piku Kangana Rananut’s tomboy look in her upcoming film Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Priyanka Chopra, too, will give her glam factor a miss for her role of a cop in the sequel of Gangaajal (2003). Jacqueline Fernandez known for her sensuous image, too, will go natural in her upcoming film, Brothers.
“I think it’s remarkable if heroines have the courage to play a character and not play a diva,” says film analyst Omar Qureshi, adding, “I think the audience is a little more intelligent now, and honestly, it does strike a chord when glamorous actresses decide to go de-glam. Then they get taken very, very seriously.”
Explaining why her character in her last film had the no-frills look, Padukone had said, “Piku keeps her look functional. She believes in looking stylish and at the same time, being comfortable at work. Like any other regular woman, she works during the day, runs the house and also takes care of her father.” Jacqueline, too, is excited about shedding the greasepaint in her next. “My look in Brothers is very realistic. We are going out of the way and being honest to our roles,” she says.
Earlier, talking about shooting of Queen in which she flaunted the natural look in most scenes, Kangana had said, “I remember, one day I wore false eyelashes on the sets. Vikas (Bahl, director) instantly spotted it and asked me to remove them. That was the best part of working in this film … that I had to face the camera without any makeup.”
