Make-up artist Uma Maheshwar is a sought-after man in the Kannada film industry. He shuttles between film sets, theatre and TV serial sets on a daily basis.
But while he has been the personal makeup artiste to actors like Anant Nag, Upendra, Suchendra Prasad, Prema and Nirosha to name a few, he finds theatre to be a more challenging avenue. “The makeup and costume has to be changed in seconds as everything is live here. There are no retakes on stage. I am hooked to that kind of pressure and I believe theatre is a platform for any creative person to explore, learn and challenge himself,” he says.
Maheshwar, who is in his early fifties, has endured an interesting journey to get to where he is at the moment. While today he makes enough money to do well for himself and to manage a team of assistants, it wasn’t always the case, as he recounts.
Chasing glory
Even as a child, growing up in the city of Hassan in Karnataka, Maheshwar was passionate about acting. “My relatives were into theatre, and I grew up watching mythological plays. I used to watch the artistes in awe as they donned the grease paint before every show,” says Maheshwar.
At 18, when his passion for cinema grew boundless, Maheshwar and a friend of his, who had also dreamed of greener pastures in Bengaluru, ran away from their homes. “I was working as a goldsmith with my brother. I was not content with the job. At that point, all I dreamt of was being associated with films,” he recollects. But, for a teenager without a high school education, surviving in a big city like Bengaluru turned out to be a problem. While his friend made the difficult choice of returning home, Maheshwar stay put, even in the face of adversity. “He (friend) went back home after three days because we did not have money to even feed ourselves. I didn’t. For me, it was a question of my determination and dignity. I did not want to go back home without accomplishing the dream I had set out to achieve,” Maheshwar adds.
With no place to go home to, and no money to buy food to quell his hunger, Maheshwar spent his days wandering the streets of Bengaluru while only stopping to nap in railway stations and bus stops.
“Then one day, I found a 10 paisa coin on the road. There were several more coins scattered around the road. I collected them all, and bought puffed rice. I lived on that for the next few days,” he says. Only later, did he realise that those coins were thrown on the road by funeral mourners taking out a procession. “I consoled myself that at least the dead were providing for me when I was in need,” adds Maheshwar, turning emotional.
By stroke of luck, a chance meeting with G Nagaraj, who was a costume designer in the Kannada film industry, changed his fortunes.
“He was also the personal assistant to actor Jaggesh,” says Maheshwar. But Nagaraj was reluctant to offer him a job at first. “He advised me to go back home. But I remained adamant, and he relented. He took me in as his assistant,” he adds. He was to iron and fold costumes, and keep them ready for the shoot. For this job, he earned a salary of ₹10 per day. “I would save money from that to buy books to read to pass time,” he says.
Second innings
His initial exposure to cinema permitted him to hang around the costume room on a film set, where he would also sleep at the end of the day. That is until he met actor Jaggesh.
Actor Jaggesh
“He (Jaggesh) took me under his care, and looked after me as his own family member. He is still my mentor and guide,” says Maheshwar. The makeup artiste ended up working with Jaggesh for 11 consecutive films — from Super Nan Maga (1992) to Bhairava (1994). It was Jaggesh who also offered him the opportunity as a makeup artiste for the first time. “I used to watch senior make-up man, Mahadev Gowda, work on his face. Then one day, Jaggesh asked me to do his make-up. I was nervous but I still gave it a shot,” he adds.
Predictably, his first time effort didn’t work out well. “There were many bad patches (of make-up). But [Jaggesh] was kind and patiently showed me how I could improve myself,” says Maheshwar. This incident happened during the shoot of the film, Bevu Bella (1993). But the experience gave him enough confidence to seek out an apprenticeship with senior make-up artiste, Mysore Venkatesh. “He trained me in this art and paid me ₹100 a day,” he adds. Soon, Maheshwar started receiving film offers.
A still from the film ‘Upendra’
Some of the notable films he has been a part of include Simhada Mari (1997) and Kaddipudi (2013), both featuring Shivarajkumar, as well as A (1998) and Upendra (1999), which feature actor Upendra Rao.
“He always craves perfection and improvises on the spot. He is a wonderful teacher and an inspiration to work with,” says Maheshwar, of Upendra. Another actor he cherishes working with is Anant Nag. “He is like a walking encyclopaedia. When he sits down for make-up, he shares old stories from theatre to films with me,” he says. He was also the personal make-up artiste for the late actor Soundarya, with whom he had worked on the film Apthamitra (2004) among others.
Late actors Soundarya and Vishnuvardhan in a still from ‘Apthamitra’
“She too was a perfectionist. Once, on a film set in Hyderabad, the working conditions were very dull. There were no proper lights, mirror or space. When she saw me struggle to work, she quietly arranged for a larger space overnight, which had huge mirrors and lights,” he adds.
But cinema is “a fickle world”, and Maheshwar knows it all too well. “There is no constant income. So, I have started doing bridal makeup during my free time to keep the kitchen fires burning,” he concludes.
