Long before women became the dominant force behind the makeup industry, a decades-old union rule barred them from working as professional makeup artists on Bollywood film sets. This might come as a surprise to many, but recently renowned Bollywood makeup artist Namrata Soni opened up about the legal and professional battle that challenged the 59-year-old union, shedding light on the industry’s most controversial gender barriers.
Women Barred from Becoming Makeup Artists in Bollywood: Why?
On the podcast of renowned fashion influencer Masoom Minawala, makeup artist Namrata Soni, who has worked with big stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Sonam Kapoor, and more, opened up about the decades-old industry rule that barred women from working as makeup artists in Bollywood. She recounted the time battling against the powerful system, receiving threats and more, but she still bravely chose to fight with many others.
What Went Down?
Sharing the clip, Masoom Minawala wrote, “A 59-year-old union banned women from doing makeup on Bollywood sets. When @namratasoni decided to challenge it, she received threats saying they would cut off her hands. Most people would have walked away. She chose to fight. This is the story of how one woman refused to let an industry decide what she could or couldn’t do.”
Namrata Soni's Fight Against a 59-Year-Old Union
During the interview, Minawala inquired about the 59-year-old union and how Namrata Soni and her mother received threats from Film City in Mumbai. Namrata confessed she did feel scared but chose not to back down. She mentioned that only men were allowed to do the makeup and women were allowed to do the hair. So, when makeup artists decided to fight the system, her father did oppose it, but she refused and said, “How can someone tell me—I live in a country where we have a woman president, we live in a secular country—and they are telling me what I can or cannot do with my life, with my career?” She added, “I knew for a fact that I was not going to keep quiet about it.”
Who Is Namrata Soni?
Namrata Soni is a renowned makeup artist who is a friendly face on magazine covers and has been a part of several Bollywood films, feature films, and ad films. She has also personally worked for many industry stars like Rani Mukerji, Sonam Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Huma Qureshi, and even the iconic fashion philanthropist Natasha Poonawalla.
But Why Were Women Barred as Makeup Artists?
The Mumbai-based association had rules dating back to the 1950s that prevented women from becoming registered makeup artists, because the productions generally hired only union members, and women were largely excluded from the profession. What made the rule even more strange was that women were allowed to work as hairdressers, but not makeup artists. All this changed when makeup artist Charu Khurana called it out, calling the gender-based exclusion a violation of constitutional principles.
