Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; May 19, 2017)

Repetitive defeats in court hasn’t detered the Cine Costume Make Up Artists and Hair Dressers Association (CCMAA) from causing distress to its female members.

After being ordered to induct women make-up artists, including Charu Khurana and Neha Kamra, into the association for a fee of Rs 15,000 in 2015, the union is now apparently demanding Rs 85,000 in addition to the standard Rs 5,001 for membership renewal.

Evidently angered by the “bullying”, Khurana, who recently completed work on S S Rajamouli’s magnum opus Bahubali 2, says, “The union is asking for Rs 85,000 [as donation] in addition to the renewal fee. We are told our cards will be renewed only if we pay this amount.’’

The much-acclaimed artist — whose clientele boasts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Barack Obama and Virat Kohli — has spearheaded the war against gender discrimination, and is ready to go up-in-arms against the association again. “I am consulting my lawyer and plan to go to the Supreme Court thereafter.”

Khurana is among 10 women make-up artists to have submitted a written complaint to the Amboli police against highhandedness of the union on May 16. Make- up designer Neha Kamra says, “I have been going to the union’s office to renew my membership, but they keep demanding more money. The committee members did not allow me to touch the rule book [ for reference].”

CCMAA general secretary Stanley D’Souza allegedly demanded that she return after May 19 since his lawyers were away.

Mid-day reached out to the association, but they remained unavailable for comment.

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; January 9, 2015)

The Supreme Court has spelt out that women make-up artists are free to pursue hairdressing and related vocations in Bollywood after the Cine Costume Make Up Artists and Hair Dressers Association denied dual membership to them.

Last November, the apex court had acted on a petition filed by Charu Khurana and scrapped a sexist rule debarring women from working as make-up artists. However, Charu’s decade-long battle against misogyny did not end there. Though the association reluctantly agreed to issue a make-up card to her, it refused to allow her to do hairdressing.

Charu not only filed a police complaint against the union, but also moved court again to ensure justice for herself and those of her ilk. The fresh judgment says those who have registered as make- up artists can also register themselves as hair dressers or costume stylists. “Needless to say the (earlier) judgment has been misconstrued by the association…. There cannot be any exclusivity or categorisation for any particular gender,” it further reads.

Right hair, right now
Charu is thrilled that her fight is finally over. She says, “The court has now clearly said that one can work in both the divisions. Why should a talented person’s expertise be limited when he/she can do both?” Charu, who will visit the association office today to apply for dual membership, has sought police protection. “There were members who came to the office threatening to cancel their membership if I were given dual membership. I would like to see them react to this new development. If all goes well, I will start work by January 18,” she says.

Make-up artist Charu Khurana fought and won the legal battle in the Supreme Court against the irrational union rule in Mumbai that didn't allow women makeup artists to work in Bollywood Excerpts of a conversation with the lady who fought and won equal rights for women in Bollywood:
Saloni Bhatia (BOMBAY TIMES; November 18, 2014)

Makeup artist Charu Khurana refused to accept the archaic union rule that prohibits female makeup artists from working in Bollywood. Harassed by the strongarming by the Cine Costume and Make Up Artists Association, Mumbai, she took her fight to the Supreme Court last year. The rule, that prohibits women from working as makeup artists and limits them to working as hairstylists in Bollywood, was called “constitutionally impermissible discrimination“ by the Supreme Court. Jyotika Kalra, her lawyer, told us, “The Supreme Court has struck down the clauses in the constitution of the Cine Costume and Make Up Artists Association (Mumbai) that say that only men can work as makeup artists, and only when a person has been staying in the state for five years. The union has been directed to allow women to work as makeup artists, and the domicile clause has been struck down.“

“The court has also directed the police to ensure that the association allows this to happen. The petition has not been closed till now and a hearing will take place on January 14 regarding similar clauses in other state makeup artists' associations.“

Before the verdict came through, we met Charu in her Lajpat Nagar home (in Delhi), where she told us about her struggles as she took a stand against the outdated rule and the humiliation that she suffered.

VERY FEW MAKEUP ARTISTS IN INDIA
The issue went to the court the previous year, but I've been fighting the union for the last five years. I first came to know about this rule when, after learning under Vidya Tikari in Delhi, I went to do a small ad in Mumbai as a makeup artist and there were only men there, who were looking down on me. I was told that only men could work as makeup artists in the film industry, but at that time, I didn't give it much thought. In 2008, I went to LA and did my masters in special effects. There, I saw the evolution of the makeup industry. I am trained in special effects and prosthetics. We still have international makeup artists coming to India to work in films. I am not saying that we shouldn't encourage international makeup artists, but our makeup artists should also get a chance to work with international talent, so that they can learn the tricks of the trade.

IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS SINCE I DID A PROJECT
When I was initially not allowed to work as a makeup artist, I approached the Maharashtra State Women's Commission, but they were not very keen on helping me. Then I went to the NCW (National Commission for Women) in 2009, which took up my case. Girija Vyas was the chairperson at the time. The NCW helped me with the paperwork and I'm very grateful to them, but they need to be stricter in dealing with their cases. Agar koi aur hota, toh woh chhod deta yeh fight and doosra profession pakad leta. It's a government body, but what they say or recommend isn't followed. The wait was frustrating. It has been two years since I did a single project. My lawyer, Jyotika Kalra, didn't charge a penny for fighting the case and was quite supportive throughout.

PAKISTAN'S ACTORS WORK IN BOLLYWOOD, BUT OUR FEMALE MAKEUP ARTISTS COULDN'T
Apart from stopping women from becoming makeup artists, there are a number of other discriminatory laws that prevent women from working in the film industry. There are unions in five states - Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu - and if you want to work there, you need to have domicile proof that you have stayed in that state for five years. This means, people from one state can't work in another state's film industry. Where will the people from the rest of the states go? Is it not discrimination? When you talk about singers or actors, we have people from Pakistan working in our films. We have people from Britain working here and even settling down here, but our own artists are not welcome. I was ready to work as a hairdresser, but then, they asked me for domicile proof, which I didn't have. That's when I decided to take up the matter with the court.

FEMALE ACTRESSES NEED FEMALE MAKEUP ARTISTS
There are so many female actresses in our industry, and yet, this rule continued to exist. Female makeup artists could only work with actresses in their vanity vans or hotel rooms. I mean, if an actress needs a touch-up on the sets, she has to seek the help of male makeup artists, which may not be very comfortable for them. Sometimes, if they are wearing skimpy clothes or bikinis, they might be more comfortable around a female makeup artist than a male one.

I GOT SUPPORT FROM THE INDUSTRY
My teacher in LA was friends with Kamal Haasan, and after finishing my course, my teacher helped me get in touch with him. He was doing a film which needed special effects. Unfortunately, that film never went on the floors, but I did the Tamil remake of A Wednesday with him. There, on the sets, the union harassed me, but Kamal Haasan supported me during that time. He has guided me by explaining what the bylaws of the union are. Vikram, a popular actor in the South, used my services for one or two films and Anushka Shetty, a Tamil actress, gave me guidance and helped me meet the right people. Even Abhishek Bachchan, with whom I worked in Raavan, said that the rule was unfair. Shoojit Sircar gave me my first film Yahaan and I have done a couple of ads with him too. My brother Rohit Khurana, who is a TV actor, has also provided me with support.

I HAD TO SHARE MY PAY WITH MALE ARTISTS
Many a time, I've had to give up my credit in films because of this rule. I've had to share my remuneration with a male makeup artist because of it, as have many other female makeup artists. They were quite happy when this case went to court. While there are some qualified male makeup artists who will accept this decision, there are others who might still create problems. The union has become stricter in the last few days. They've been raiding sets to search for female makeup artists. They're even checking vanity fans. Namrata Soni was harassed a few days ago, when she was working on a film set. The association is resisting the rise of women makeup artists.

The union harasses producers who hire female makeup artists. Some people voiced their opinion against the rule. For instance, Farah Khan wanted female makeup artists for her film and she even spoke to the union, but they didn't allow it. These people would raid the sets, cut off the electricity and abuse us. They would charge producers a fine of Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 that was not accounted for. No producer or director would like to work under such conditions. That's why the producers complied with the rule - they had no other option.

IRRATIONAL RULES THAT EXISTED IN THE STATES OF MAHARASHTRA, TAMIL NADU, KERALA, KARNATAKA AND ANDHRA PRADESH
A woman can't work as a makeup artist. She can, however, work as a hair stylist, if she has domicile proof of residing in the state for five years. If a child's father is a makeup artist, the child is entitled to getting a membership of the union, if he decides to work as a makeup artist. If you are a member of one of these unions, you can work as a makeup artist in any of the other industries. You can't work in the film industry of these states if you are not a member of the union.

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; November 18, 2014)

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; November 11, 2014)

The Supreme Court has finally ended the reign of male make-up artistes in the film and television industry, terming it “an absolute violation of constitutional value and norms”. Upholding a petition filed by make-up artiste, Charu Khurana, the apex court ruled that no discrimination should be made on the basis of gender and domicile.

Khurana, who had been fighting this case for more than four years, is thrilled with the verdict and likely to get a membership card of the Cine Costume Make Up Artistes and Hair Dressers Association in the next 10 days. Industry sources say around 1,500 make-up men are part of the association.

However, the judgment does not seem to have gone down well with the male make up artistes. They are worried that they may go out of job if women are given membership. Sharad Shelar, president of the association, says, “Following the court order, we will issue cards to women artistes but they will not be eligible to do both make-up and hairstyling. If the union starts issuing cards for both the jobs, male members will suffer. We will also look at their qualifications before issuing the membership cards.”

Veteran make-up artiste Jaywant Thakre, who won an award for Devdas, does not pull his punches while talking about women entering what was hitherto a male bastion. He says, “I don’t feel threatened and am not against women artistes but our field is such that is not going to be easy for them. Right now, they are all excited (about the court verdict) but the ground reality is something else. I fear that they will tend to use gender to their advantage — there have been similar cases in the past. I also fear women’s entry will finish the career of male artistes, who are considering it as a profession.”

While Shelar says about five to six applications from women artistes for membership are pending with him, hairstylist Namrata Soni has decided that she will not become a member. She recalls a recent incident when members from the make-up association landed up on the sets of Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo when she was fixing Sonam Kapoor’s hair. She says, “They couldn’t reach me and instead, met Salman Khan. I have been harassed a lot of times in the past but have never paid a fine (the penalty is Rs 15,000). It had once happened on Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om sets but she stood up for me. I will never take membership nor will I pay a fine. India is a free country and one is allowed to practise any profession. I don’t care about the union.”

Thakre does not react kindly to Soni’s statement. “She does not have a make-up artiste membership card. She only has a hairstylist card and is taking away somebody else’s work which is unfair,” he retorts.

Filmmaker Farah Khan, who became the first woman to enter the Rs 100-crore club with Happy New Year, sides with the women artistes. “I am thrilled with the judgment. When this ban existed, I always tried to go around it by hiring women make-up artistes and no union member dared to come on my sets. It was a 100- year old archaic law when men used to dress up as women and act in movies. If a woman can make a movie why can’t she do make-up,” she asks.

Aamir Khan echoes Farah. “I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court. This was long over due,” he says.

On the other hand, actress-turned- producer Pooja Bhatt takes a neutral stand, stating: “I will not hire someone on the basis of gender but skills.”

Tireless crusader
Charu Khurana had formally applied for membership as a make-up professional in 2009 but it was turned down. Then she approached Dinesh Chaturvedi of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), who issued a letter allowing her to work as a make-up artiste across the country.

But when Charu went to Chennai in search of work, she was in for a rude shock — the association in the South refused to honour the FWICE letter. Disheartened, she filed a complaint with the National Commission for Women (NCW) against industry rules that stated that only men could be make-up artistes and women just hairdressers. NCW presented her case to the Supreme Court last year.

During the last five years, Charu lost out on several projects, including South films, due to the make- up unions’ interference. Now, with the SC’s judgment, a brighter future awaits her. “As I was not allowed to go on the sets, I had to share my earnings with others. But this judgment will help me bounce back,” she says.