BENGALURU: Rashida Pavthiwala, who has been a makeup artist for over a decade, has always been a fan of retro looks, especially those from the ’70s. As a first-hand witness to how the makeup scene and styles have evolved over a period of time, Pavthiwala has come up with a series of the popular ’70s looks that Bollywood actresses have carried over a period of time.
She picked the Hare Rama Hare Krishna look of Zeenat Aman, who recently joined Instagram, as the first one for her series. “When I started the series we were trying to tag her but were disappointed that she was not on social media. But now I hope she notices her look,” says Pavthiwala, optimistically. “Zeenat Aman’s look inspired youngsters during that time. Her Dum Maro Dum look brought hippie fashion into focus. We also call it a Hare Rama Hare Krishna era,” she says.
Apart from Zeenat Aman, she has also recreated the looks of Hema Malini, Helen, and Sharmila Tagore for her series. One of the common things about ’70s looks were the use of nude makeup. “There was a wide usage of blue eye shadow. And it was inspired by the west. If you see Hollywood movies of those times, actresses like Audrey Hepburn used blue eye shadow, which also trickled into the Hindi film industry. So much so, even if the actress wore a yellow saree, they still went ahead with blue eye shadow,” explains Pavthiwala.
One of the others featured in the series is Hema Malini and Pavthiwala picked a look in a saree with a pearl necklace. “You would have seen a lot of movies like Dream Girl or Andaz. This was also a cult look during that time because I remember my mum following it with a simple pastel saree and a string of pearls,” says Pavthiwala. She further adds, “She also brought fringes into fashion. She was one actress who had a round face with no contour. Even I went for a very powdered and matte look with no highlights.”
Ditching so many popular looks for Sharmila Tagore, she went for a look from the movie An Evening in Paris. “Sharmila Tagore was one actress who I feel could not look poor. She had so much poise and class. She always carried everything with so much richness and elegance,” she says, before signing off that she has a few other looks she is coming up with.