Clover Wootton is the lady who transformed Ranbir Kapoor into Sanjay Dutt look. Ranbir’s transformation into Dutt with the use of make-up and prosthetics among other things.
when it comes to biopics, it takes more than just the right combination of filmmaker and nuanced actors to get things right.
And when it’s the story of one of Bollywood’s most regarded yet controversial actors, Sanjay Dutt, to unfold on screens, there are more than one things to be taken care of.
Sanju is directed by Rajkumar Hirani , stars Ranbir Kapoor in the titular role while Vicky Kaushal, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Manisha Koirala and Paresh Rawal forms the able supporting cast.
The film’s success is as much of the actors as it is of the people who worked behind-the-scenes to ensure Ranbir’s believable transformation into Sanjay Dutt.
One of them is Clover Wootton, a make-up artist and prosthetics expert,
who has previously worked with Anushka Sharma in Pari.
Being British, she didn’t grow up with Bollywood.
so while at first, the task seemed daunting to her, she put in the effort to understand his personality.
“He is such a well-known and well-loved face that it was daunting to attempt this task.
Becoming familiar with what he means to people was something I had to keep in mind, plus what Ranbir was going to bring to the table,”
she says in an exclusive interaction with ZoomTV.com.
For transforming Ranbir Kapoor into Sanjay Dutt look.
She had to learn and understand not just their faces but what Ranbir and Dutt meant to their fans in their respective capacity and then attempt to stay true to that.
“Ranbir, as you’ve seen, has mastered Sanjay Dutt’s speech and mannerisms.
I had to then work to bring his features more in line with those of Sanjay’s and to show his deterioration and ageing throughout the film,” she elaborates.
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Rajkumar Hirani, as she says, wanted a look that’d resemble Sanjay Dutt but would also keep Ranbir’s own charm.
Wootton explains, “We wanted to age Ranbir according to how his face would age rather than exactly replicate
Sanjay Dutt and run the risk of applying so many prosthetics that you lose the actor underneath.
It took months to get the perfect look;
We needed to keep Ranbir’s charm intact and aid his performance.
Wootton adds that as much effort is required before the film as is required during the shoot and says,
“Making prosthetics is a long and complicated process in the studio before you even get to do the makeup on the actor.
We spent over a couple of months doing multiple look trials and tests.”
But she credits renowned make-up designer Vikram Gaikwad as even before she came onboard,
he knew exactly which of Dutt’s looks the team wanted to achieve and that helped her do multiple look tests to figure
out how far to push the look and how much weight should be gained among other pointers.
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Ranbir was a good boy on the sets of Sanju;
On working with Ranbir, who stepped into Dutt’s shoes and got a taste of his life through this film,
Wootton has only good things to say.
“Ranbir was as patient and trusting as any makeup artist could hope to have in their chair.
I think he enjoyed the transformation though it was of course very tiresome to sit for so long in the chair every day.
She adds that even though they had early call times,
Ranbir continued to be professional and positive throughout and says,
“He was always on time, patient and so much fun to work with. It made my job a lot easier!”
Hardest phase of Sanju;
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While the entire process to ace Dutt’s look wasn’t as easy, the toughest parts according to Wootton were after Ranbir gained weight to step into the next phase of Dutt’s life.
“The later stages where he has gained weight were hardest.
We did many look trials to figure what worked and what didn’t eventually settling with a ‘less is more’ approach which translated better on screen,” she says.
Makeup, when done well, can add plenty to the film’s narrative.
To this, she says, “Not just in creating believable, unusual and infamous characters, but with small details like sweat, fingernails and blood, you can help add texture and credibility to a scene.
It’s great to see directors starting to take note of this potential and ensuring that the makeup department is encouraged creatively.”
