KOCHI: With beautifully kohled eyelashes, red glass bangles and curly hair adorned with jasmine flowers sits a woman. But when you get to know that this elegant Malayali woman is a man, you are bound to be delightfully surprised. This is why makeup is an art — it can transform people, their body and mind. Young freelance makeup artist Sreegesh Vasan is exploring this. The Balussery native has recently grabbed attention on social media for cross-dressing his colleague Suresh Krishna.
Sreegesh has had the idea of transforming a man into a woman for a while. He reached out to many male models, most of them were uncomfortable with changing into a woman “Majority were worried about what society will say. This surprised me. They felt that crossdressing is a shameful thing. After endless inquiries, I found my woman in another make-up artist, Suresh Krishna,” he says.
For Sreegesh it was a creative challenge. But he says the dedication Suresh made, where he prepped up for the transformation for around three months, played a big role. “I approached him with the idea during the beginning of the second lockdown. We were able to shoot in October after he went through a drastic body transformation. Suresh went on diet and exercise and lost around 10 kilos. He took the effort to get his body in shape and get a natural contour for his face while putting on makeup. He grew his hair which was slightly curly and even did hair removal on his entire body. I respect him for the devotion he took for this makeover,” says Sreegesh.
A fan of veteran Bollywood actresses like Rekha and Vidya Balan, Sreegesh chose their grandiose style for Suresh. “They always mesmerised me with their flawless, royal look. I picked a silk saree and sourced ornaments from Parakkat Jewels.
Soon, Sreegesh started to receive inquiries about who the woman is — an actress or a new model. The transformation also fetched Sreegesh more acknowledgement in the industry. He has a new movie and photoshoot assignments lined up now. “People thought of Suresh as an actress and asked me if he would like to do more photoshoots for advertisements. I felt successful hearing that because I was able to make Suresh look unidentifiable. For me, as a make-up artist, it was more like receiving an award for my skill,” he says.