What’s make up artist Shaan Muttathil’s secret to success? It is pure hard work and determination. He is really blessed to get to work with such high-profile figures but at the end of the day he gives credit to his clients, the celebs and all those who he had worked with. He says all of them have been extremely lovely, humble and down to earth. In a chat with Y.Sunita Chowdhary of Klapboardpost.com, the youngster talks of his achievements and how he gained a foothold in Bollywood. Where does Shaan get his inspiration from and what inspired him to go into the beauty space? “I was born and brought up in Germany and I have three more sisters. When I was born, my sisters were already grown up. I always say, I have four mothers and they have pampered me. My younger sister was extremely stylish, a bit difficult at home. She would show her midriff and lipstick and we had an orthodox and strict father. He would be miffed. He was stylish but for him, style always meant Indian looks and dressing. Later when I became a makeup artist, the directors and producers always said that I make foreigners look very indian. So going back, growing up with sisters who were trying to wear short skirts and my father shouting at them..I saw it all and I did create the look that the sisters dressed in. I am attached to the Indian looks and in Mumbai it helped me to create those looks. I was very Bollywood, but my dream was to work in the Malayalam film industry. I did bachelors in fashion design in Germany and wanted to be Manish Malhotra. Shahrukh Khan was very popular in Germany and the Germans loved to see Bollywood films. I was inspired by Karan Johar and Manish Malhotra, was on the creative side and wanted to be a designer. Every kid wants to be in front of the camera but I realised I wasn’t made for that,” he says.
So Shaan was behind it. He subsequently graduated from fashion designing in Bangalore and after that went back to Germany and took up merchandising which eventually didn’t click. Back in India in Delhi in the early 2000 early, he wanted to be in styling and did a styling course at the Pearl Academy. He shares, “Styling was the new job which was coming up. The course was expensive, it cost me lakhs and I paid only 3 or 4 lakh rupees. I wanted to finish the first semester and leave the course but I became a class topper. On the last day of college, my well wisher said that though I wasn’t interested in it, my hand is meant to do this and I have some kind of a gift. She said I must complete the second semester and leave and become a stylist and at least when out in the world I can say I can do make up and hair. Twenty years before, this wasn’t a cool job and none took it seriously. They would say a make -up artist job is for parlors. Interestingly, from the second semester, my friends’ classmates would call me for their mothers and sisters party looks, I would do them up and get good enough pocket money. Thousand bucks per look and I would earn 3000 Rs for three people. I was class topper again in the second semester and was lucky to work with Mona of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin. I was lucky because of my teachers. Mona said my hand is extremely good and she wanted me to do television. I could see my dream coming true, travelling the world, making good money, standing on my feet and working with celebs.”
He was soon working with famous models and this took him to Elite Modelling Agency and he was introduced to Eiesha Mittal (daughter of Sunil Bharti Mittal). He did her wedding make-up and thereafter there was no stopping Shaan. A lot of key networking happened and he was booked for new jobs and there were new clients, all of them rich and famous. Then he met Chitrangada Singh who hired him for her film, and Shaan moved to Bollywood. Ask Shaan how he’d describe his signature look and what is it about his style that sets him apart from other makeup artists? Shaan quips, “I am 38 now and I started with Chitrangada Singh and Rani Mukherjee. People judge whatever we do so I tell the girls this is your life, do what makes your heart happy. People will talk bad and good about you and judge you but when your heart is happy you look the best. My directors say that people see my work as more glamorous because I work with glamorous actresses. Directors do call me for no make up look. I never change their face and I do make up but it looks like no makeup. That is my forte, that is for films. I have a sense of design and for promotions I go a bit louder. I have done a 3 year designer course and I do Jaqueline’s styling a lot. Most actresses who know me personally say that my end outcome is completely different from what they have even thought of. I know for sure, for a certain kind of a neck, you should have a high ponytail, for another neck, you have to cover the back..for a backless neck you have to leave hair open.”
What is the most important beauty advice that Shaan can give to prospective students? What products do you think should be a staple in every woman’s purse? He says promptly, “Even if you don’t have money to do a course, you can still learn. Social media helps a lot, you can learn the trend of what helps one look good. The staple product is lipstick, it can be used on the cheek, eyes and lips. Once you get that on your cheeks and lips i.e the lipstick with a moisturiser..you put on sunglasses and then you are ready. Advice for prospective students? It is a business which makes a lot of money. If you work hard, you are punctual and you get your actress ready…the beauty and community has a lot of money. If you are in a small village, you guys can start a small parlor. Even if you charge 500 Rs, you are making a good margin. My kit is expensive, my brands give most of the things for free but products are never ending and most of them are very affordable. If you work hard, spend ten thousand hours on something then you are the best. Look at Rani Mukherjee. She is a fab actor and a dancer. She would rehearse day and night and I learnt that from her. However good you are, you can’t take your art easy. There is another actress who couldn’t dance but today she is the best dancer in the industry. Sky is not the limit, you can still work hard. I was wanting to work for a brand and my English with a Mallu German accent. They said it was an international brand and they couldn’t hire me and after a few days, another superior brand called me from London to design looks for the London Asian community. If you don’t give up, the extra ten minutes will always get you work.”
Shaan was working with high profile people and travelling everywhere. Most people know everything but it is the art at the end of the day, you make your client happy and you are made. What is it really like working with such high-profile figures? What have been the largest hurdles you’ve had to overcome to date? He adds, “I love spending time with Radhika Merchant and Esha Ambani are fun. People are going to be how you behave to them and they will show it back to you. Roadblocks? People change and change is relevant and we have to change with the time. Social media wasn’t there eight back. We should be relevant and stay the place you are. According to me, Jaqueline is a simple person, she is ready to come out without makeup. I want to look ten shades darker, I want to look hot and sexy and trust me a lot. She tells me to always do the double lashes and give me the diva look. The thought of her being a foreigner is going away from people’s minds. She is half Malaysian, half British and half Srilankan girl. People change with the years, new born babies in one year look different. We are ourselves changing. People, media always say why is she looking bad? We are human, people will look older, lose their charm. Look at Katrina – for 20 years she held onto the industry which is man driven and that is great. We can lose hair in one year, change is normal. There are artists who are cancer survivors and yet acting. Women have a short shelf life and to stay on for number one for many years is phenomenal. I want to look the best, and work for it every day. I eat healthy food, I am surrounded with girls who know what is healthiest. My only bad habit is smoking.”
