“Forget getting its due, most film award events such as Filmfare Awards, Screen Awards, Zee Awards and IIFA do not even have a category for best makeup and prosthetic,” rues Preetisheel, who leads the look design scenario in India.

Preetisheel received the National Film Award for Best Makeup for the pre-Mughal historical epic Nanak Shah Fakir based on the life of Guru Nanak, wherein she designed the looks for all the characters in the movie.

“The National Award is probably the only one which acknowledges and encourages makeup and prosthetic personnel by having a National Film Award for Best Makeup category,” she remarks.

Preetisheel’s list of accomplishments is huge. She has designed looks for a number of top artists in Bollywood’s box-office successes such as Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat, Chhichhore, 102 Not Out, Mulk, Bala and Housefull 4.

Her look design for Ranveer Singh as the intimidating pre-Mughal era emperor Alauddin Khilji in the 2018 film Padmaavat was a rage. She also received widespread critical acclaim for designing the look for Nawazuddin Siddiqui for the 2019 film Thackeray;  the biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. She received rave reviews and special praise for the way Nawazuddin resembled Thackeray.

Her other credits include movies such as Andhadhun, Thackeray, Shivaay, Haider, Hawaizaada, Rangoon, Brothers, Talwar, Finding Fanny, Parched, Mom, Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), Malaal, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Raat Akeli Hai, Panga, Ujda Chaman, House Next Door, Bigil, Boomerang and 24.

She gave Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor their ‘father and son’ looks forUmesh Shukla’s runaway hit 102 Not Out. What’s more! Preetisheel even created believable ghosts for the horror film House Next Door.

And now, the National Award-winning makeup, hair and prosthetic designer is all set to give audiences a feel of her patriotic touch. Her work will next be seen in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk where she has designed the unique look of Rishi Kapoor, who is playing a devout Muslim out to prove his love for the country.

“The best part about working with Rishi Sir is that he is always cheerful and encouraging,” quips Preetisheel. “When we begin work on his look, he admires the creativity like a child. His trust and blind faith always keeps me on my toes,” she adds.

Another patriotic film that the whiz is working on, is the John Abraham starrer Romeo Akbar Walter (RAW), in which he is said to sport 18 different looks. Preetisheel remarks that “John is a very chilled out person. Initially, he is the inquisitive types, but once he knows we are on the right track, he gives full freedom to experiment with varied looks. This also puts more responsibility on me too and I feel more involved in my work.”

So Preetisheel has a lot of interesting projects to look forward to this year. And we have not even talked about Thackeray, Boomerang and Andhadhun here. That’s another story for another day.