K. Sethumadhavan - Make-up Artiste 
  

Oct 2000 
 

Which was your first experience as an independant make-up artist? 
I was assisting senior make-up men, so I was known in the drama field. Once Mr.Y G Parthasarathy asked me to do the make-up for him. This was my first experience as an independant make-up artist. After that, I continued to be a full time make-up artist. In the 60’s, I used to be the make-up artist for Mr.Y G Parthasarathy’s play "Dial Mr.Sanjeevi". 

How did you enter the dance field as a make-up artist? 
The first dancer for whom I did make-up was Yamini Krishnamurthy. Later I started to do make-up for other dancers also. From dancers of yesteryears to dancers of today, I have done make-up for almost all of them. It’s a long list. 

Were there any special make-up artists for dance in olden days? 
There were make-up artists within the troupe. They used to take care of make-up, costumes and presentation of the artiste. But the concept of a specialised make-up artist came after the advent of cinema. 

What is your idea of make-up? 
Make-up in Tamil means "Oppanai", which means making the artiste suitable for the character. 'Opputhal' in Tamil means agreeing, so 'oppanai' means making the artiste’s face agreeable to the character. This is what you call make-up in English. Make-up is basically of three types, stage make-up, photo make-up and society make-up. Based on the requirement, make-up is done. 

Can you tell us the difference between stage, photo and society make-up? 
Society make-up is very simple. You apply a foundation, then powder over it, Kohl, lipstick and finish the make-up. But Stage and Photo make-up are a bit demanding. Lighting plays a major role. If the lighting is heavy, you can use heavy make-up and can use shades. But if the lighting is less, you can use only light make-up. For photos, the cameraman plays an important role. The angles and distances he chooses influence the nature of make-up. 

How was make-up done in those days? 
Make-up was also called "Aridharam" in Tamil. On the day of the performance, if the performance was in the evening, the artistes used to start preparing themselves from noon itself. In those days, lighting was confined to petromax lights only. So turmeric and castor oil was first applied to give a yellow tint to suit this type of lighting. After sometime, the oil and turmeric was removed. Then a mixture of zinc white, glycerin and sindhuram was applied. Zinc white mixed with sindhuram gave a good tone and glycerin gave a good shine. This make-up used to remain for hours. 

How do you decide on the type of make-up for an artiste? 
Basically the technique is the same. Based on the tone of the skin and the body heat, we decide on the make-up. When we put our hand on the head of the artist, we can feel the body temperature. Make-up tends to darken if the body heat of the artist is high, so we prefer light make-up for such people. The face will start looking shiny after sometime if the face is oily in nature. We consider these factors and do the make-up. 

Do the artistes give any suggestions? 
At times they do. I take it. Sometimes, if I feel that their suggestions might not be suitable, I tell them so and they accept it. The final result must be good. That is my desire and that of the artistes too. 

Is there any difference in make-up for different dance forms like Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, Contemporary dance, etc? 
Make-up technique is the same. Costumes differ according to the style. And so do the hair styles. 

There are certain mythological characters like Rama, Krishna and others. People associate certain features with them. For instance, N T Rama Rao was famous for his portrayal of Krishna. Is it possible to do make-up for anyone to portray such mythological characters? Or should a face suit the character to be played? 
Any person can be made to look like Rama, Krishna or any mythological characters. As you mentioned, there are certain features associated with them. Rama’s eyes will be like a lotus, there will be a mischievous look in Krishna’s eyes..Such features can be depicted on any person and anyone can look like Rama or Krishna. In Therukoothu, we see different people do many roles. Do we have N T Rama Rao everywhere? 

On an average, how long does it take to complete make-up? 
To complete the make-up, costume and hair dressing takes 1 to 1 ½ hours. 

After the initial make-up, touch-up might be needed during a break in the performance. Is it difficult as the break will be short and within that time, you will have to do the best? 
I don’t touch-up during breaks. It is a wrong concept. All I do during the break is to remove the sweat and oil by wiping off with a towel. If there is a costume change and if hairstyle is to be changed, it takes 7-10 minutes, so it is not difficult. 

Do you travel outside Chennai? 
If I get an offer, I do. I have travelled throughout India with Yamini Krishnamurthy. I have also gone to Singapore and Malaysia with Anita Ratnam and Srinidhi..