Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 22, 2020)

Hindi cinema’s veteran makeup artiste Pandhari Juker passed away on Monday at the age of 88. In his long career, he worked with many actors including Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Madhuri Dixit Nene, and Juhi Chawla.

Juhi, who worked with Juker very early on in her career for a film called Kaafila (1990), fondly remembers Pandhari Dada, his work ethics, and his skills. She feels that he was the “master of all makeup artistes, a jolly, easy going person who was always hustling between studios to do makeup for other artistes”. “I was lucky to work with him so early in my career, though I didn’t know then that we would end up doing so many films together,” says Juhi, adding, “I have seen so many makeup artistes of the industry learn from him. He would do your makeup in minutes and never used brushes or too many palettes. Instead he used his fingers. His touch was so soft. He was a storyteller, and would share anecdotes of his experiences of working with Meena Kumari and Madhubala and how makeup was done for black and white films with brown and blue eye-shadow and purple lips to make it look a certain way.”

While Juhi enjoyed having him as her makeup artiste for films, she recalls compliments from him. She shares, “Pandhari Dada would make me look pretty and once he complimented me saying, ‘you already have such a pretty face, you don’t need makeup’. Dada would tell us that one day he’s going to retire and settle down at his Karjat farmhouse. We used to laugh at him because we knew he was never going on a break and sure enough, he continued working. I remember presenting him with a Lifetime Achievement Award at an awards function. He was loved and respected by one and all in the industry. I will miss him. It feels like a big part of my life has gone by, with certain lovely people I worked with, going away,” she concludes.