KOCHI: Having started out as a character concept artist in the Malayalam film industry at a time when such a title was unheard of, Sethu Sivananadan has come a long way. The brain behind Manju Warriers’s look in ‘Aami’, Mohanlal’s transformation in ‘Odiyan’ , Jayasurya’s for ‘Njan Marykutty’ and many other movies, he is more than a makeup artist. To put it lightly, Sethu sketches the director’s vision of a movie character. He uses his expertise in sketching, prosthesis and an understanding of the human anatomy to visualise the characters, and works with makeup artists to bring them to life.
Sethu has been a part of the industry since the time actors stuck to a standard look while portraying on-screen characters. Now, many of them undergo extreme physical transformations to play their part.
“These days, character concept art gets created parallel to the making of a script. Importance is being given not just to the presentation of the main character, but also for those in supporting roles,” he says.
Character concept art is not just about re-imagining an actor as a movie character and sketching them. There is more to it. “The first look poster of Prithviraj’s ‘Karachi’, shows an aged version of the actor in a military setting. While it is possible to imagine such a look, the character concept art also has to be feasible so as to realistically recreate it through makeup and prosthesis,” says Sethu.
One of the recent, most challenging and time-consuming projects he has been part of is Blessy’s ‘Aadujeevitham’, where Prithviraj plays the role of Najeeb, who is stranded in the desert. “Working on the character and coming up with a look that portrays the weathering his skin goes through during the years spent in the desert was intense, but quite satisfying. I am always up for a challenging project,” adds Sethu.
He begins to work on a character after discussions with the director. He is a keen observer of people, their characteristics and facial features. All this comes in handy when creating a character. “Attention to details such as the position of a mole on the face to the alignment of teeth- all of this can make or break the authenticity of a character,” he adds. The appreciation that first look posters of a movie receives, drives Sethu to work more.
Making way
Makeup artist Pattanam Rasheed has been instrumental in Sethu’s journey in the industry. It was through Rasheed that Sethu got to work with Mammootty in ‘Pathemaari’.As someone who has always been interested in drawing, with a fair amount of talent in makeup, it was artist Ranji Vishwanatha who encouraged Sethu to take up art professionally. His upcoming projects includes Mohanlal’s directorial debut ‘Barroz’, Mammotty starrer ‘One’, beisdes ‘Kunjali Marakkar’, ‘Thuramukham’, ‘Malik’, ‘Sukumara Kurup’, ‘Priest’, ‘Karachi’ , ‘Appostholan’, and ‘Keshu aan ee veedinte naayakan’.
He has worked in Telugu and Tamil industries as well and was involved with the creation of ‘Thalaivi’. Sethu was also a part of Kamal Hassan’s movie ‘Indian 2’.Sethu is also setting up a prosthesis studio. “I want to be able to provide all assistance required for a movie, from visualising a character to bringing it alive on the screen,” Sethu adds.