The inimitable Ojas Rajani is all about energy, individuality and all out glamour. The Project EffexX trend mavens caught up with the star who makes Bollywood stars shine even more brightly at the India Salon Pro Event, held in Mumbai at the Hotel Renaissance in Powai. Here Ojas was revealing the Spring Summer Looks of 2012, brought by Merck for Peclers Paris.
This is what we found out.
He has never been one to follow convention and from the time he was little it was all about giving those always welcome make-overs to his aunts and cousins, extravagantly draping sarees and artistic make-up sessions. Eventually when it was time to get into college, choose a career, there was the classic battle between his father and himself over what course to choose.
His father an established businessman wanted him to become an accountant while he wanted to get into design. Ojas, still a young man, living at home relented and joined the ICWA course in accountancy from Sydenham College in Mumbai. After graduating, he joined a prominent accountancy firm but making cheques and doing billing just didn’t seem to cut it for his vibrant personality and creative nature. He then decided to join father’s saree and textile retail business.
Ojas Rajani at work
He was given the job of handling the cash and doing the shop accounts, but what really held his attention and talent was innovatively draping the sarees on the mannequins and giving them new looks. In this time he moved out of home into his apartment in Bandra where it got easier for him to play truant from work and really just living it up and enjoying the independence.
Soon, his father was going to catch on when on when he called the store and found out that Ojas has been “calling-in-sick” for a few days. He was then given the ultimatum of a lifetime, ” My father finally accepted that his son wasn’t really interested in accountancy. He asked me to prove myself. I got a break working with Suniel Shetty’s store More Mischief as a stylist, around the same time my aunt who lived in Miami was visiting India, and she encouraged me to come back to the US with her to explore my career paths and goals.”
This led to his enrolling into the prestigious Miami School of Design and then he was to stay on in the States for another 6-7 years before his mother finally said it was time to come home and be with them. “I really found myself and my skills while living in the states. Once I came back to India from Miami there was an opening in Channel V for an in-house hair and make-up artist. I really was blessed. I styled Ruby Bhatia, Manpreet Brar, Sophia Haq, Meghana Reddy and Laila Ross to name just a few. Then those were the two fantastic years in my life and career and my parents were also happy to see I was content. I was really able to infuse a new loom to way the VJs presented themselves on screen.”
At this point, since the make-up he gave for Channel V was truly a fresh look for the camera, he started getting requests for other shows. At this point his father told him it was time to quit Channel V and go make his bones on his own as a Freelance Make-up Artist.
“This was the best advice I got, since no sooner did I quit. I landed Pyaar Tune Kya to style Urmila Matondkar’s look for the hit number “Kambaqt Ishq.” He has since worked with every leading lady in the industry from Madhuri Dixit, Malika Arora, Mahima Choudhury on Coke and Lux Ads. He did Aishwarya Rai’s look for the Commonwealth Games and worked with Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Rani Mukherjee and Saif Ali Khan. “ It’s my hardwork and my mothers prayers that have really helped me prove myself. Aiswarya Rai’s look in Umrao Jaan was also my work.” Ojas who is the brand ambassador for L’oreal India has worked on with Sonam Kapoor to launch the make up looks of the year as the Golden Girl.
The Industry – Then and Now
People are more professional. There are contracts to secure every assignment and project. Back in the day we used to get paid after 6-8 months of humiliating chasing. Now every actor has his/her own list of make-up artists based according to the budgets of the film. As a rule, I now only work with advance payments.
Make up Trends – Then and Now
Styles are changing and there is grand departure from caked make-up. I believe that during my stint with Channel V, after I came back from Miami I was truly able to infuse a new and fresh look for the VJs on-screen which really allowed me to develop my USP and propelled me to more and bigger projects. I started using dewy liquid make-up that was so much lighter on the skin not to mention more realistic and very fashionable and trendy. We were now able to go for a controlled over-the-top to really take up the glamour quotient up a few notches. The new people in make-up are open to experimenting a whole lot more with the availability of brands, technical know-how and lots to do. There is a lot more competition but that really works to innovation and good makeup.
Ojas Rajani with Models and the Spring-Summer 2012 Make-up Looks for Project EffexX at India Salon Pro
Looks for the Season
Winter is coming to a close and we’re soon going to be hit with peak summer – so arm yourself with summery and trendy coral, peaches, pinks fresh dewy look. Bring on the bronzer for the evening for a nice sun-kissed look. For the evening a tinted moisturizer is a good option since you don’t want to sweat away your make-up. Mattifying powders are a good idea so that your skin looks fresh and shine free. Lips are all about lip-tints and lip-stains that are long lasting and very natural looking. Shimmer and shine for the evening with a cream based application or your lip stains work well on the cheeks to. Its all about a dewy classy and fresh look.
You absolutely need:
- Waterproof mascara
- Waterproof eye pencil, smudged with an eye shadow its better not to use eye liners as they tend to run in the heat.
- Aqua colours blue and green eye-pencils are a must have, to truly add an exciting edge to your dewy look.
- Lip-tints and lip stains
Memorable Experience
Working on Robot for Aishwarya Rai. This was extremely exciting as this was a Rajneekant film as well and I was doing all 7 songs which had to have a really very different look and feel in each. I really got a great showcase here with a lot of drama in the eyes and hair which is my forte. Aishwarya is truly a muse and really allowed me to break the stereotyped looks that she is normally accustomed to portraying. I did the hair and make-up for the entire ensemble.
The Ojas Rajani Look
I can make even regular looking people look very glamorous with just a few touches and lines.
I recently did the Mother and Daughter shoot for Hello Magazine that was styled by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. I did the looks for Jaya and Shweta Bachchan – and everyone including Shweta were ecstatic about her look. She said she had never looked this good before. In the same magazine I did the looks for Amrita Singh and Sara, Saif and Amrita’s daughter. She is barely 16 and producers are lining up to sign her after she was photographed for the magazine. The magazine said, she looked like “A million bucks.”
Future Plans
I am really keen on starting my own make-up training school. I feel the institutes these days are just touts and for hefty fees, give very little attention and guidance to young talent. I want to do an intensive 10-15 training in a dedicated 9-5 set-up and really allow the students to explore and unleash their creativity, skill and sensibilities.
Words of Advice
There is no substitute for hardwork, and I would encourage young people to do the same. Keep working on pushing the limit, while maintaining a sensibility. People will always try and pull you down but you have to keep going and staying positive.
