New Delhi: New Delhi-based Charu Khurana, 32, has won a court battle against the rules of the Cine Costume and Make-Up Artists Association (CCMAA), Mumbai, which barred women from working as make-up artists. Until now, women were only allowed to become hair stylists. Observing that “such shocking discrimination on the basis of gender violated constitutional values”, the Supreme Court has ruled that women could, henceforth, work as make-up artists.
Quashing a by-law in the rules of the CCMAA, the court held that “such harassment of women in the 21st century is inconceivable and impermissible.” The court gave the verdict on a petition filed by Charu, who suffered at the hands of the associations in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Charu, who had been doing make-up for fashion shows, advertisements and feature films said her efforts to make advancements were blocked when the union refused her membership in 2004. She pursued the matter until it reached the Supreme Court.
She speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview:
After the Supreme Court verdict in your favour in November, has your struggle finally ended?
No, the struggle did not end despite the Supreme Court verdict in November, as I still could not obtain the membership. When I went to the union office after the verdict and applied for both make-up and hairdresser membership, Sharad Shelar, the Chairman and Stanley D’ Souza, the general secretary of CCMAA, were very rude to me. They refused to comply by the court orders saying I could apply for either make-up artist or hairdresser. They tried all manipulations and even raised the enrolment fee from Rs5,000 (Dh293) to an exorbitant Rs100,000. This was another way of limiting the number of people to work, which I found very unethical and unfair. So, I was forced to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court once again. On January 5, the court again directed the union to fall in line. Also, the membership has now come down to Rs15,000.
So, what’s your next step?
I will be going to Mumbai shortly and apply[ing] to work as make-up artist and hairdresser. I am happy that finally the bias towards women artists will come to an end. It was unfair to suppress the talent of capable persons and not [give] them the opportunity to learn the best of the trade, whether it’s make-up, hair or costume, or all three together. We pay a large sum to train ourselves at institutes in India and abroad, but if we are not practicing, the entire effort goes waste.
What about the domicile clause, which too was archaic?
That too has been deleted. One had to be living in Mumbai or the southern states for at least five years to apply for membership of their respective association. And not a single woman was given membership as [a] make-up artist. In fact, the discrimination started majorly in the southern states — including Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It’s strange that artistes from Pakistan or Britain could come and work here, but people from Indian states were barred! The unions had been trying to create regional discrimination.
When did you first realise the situation was turning bad?
My mother had been working as an independent make-up artist and that’s how I became interested in this line from an early age. I began working as [a] make-up artist in films in 2002. At times, the union people would barge in on the sets and charge me Rs1,500, saying women weren’t allowed to work and I had to pay the fine for violating the rules. Since the amount was still manageable and I did not then know the intricacies, the matter would be settled. Later, I went to do my Masters from the Cinema Make-up School in the US. I was one of the few local artists equipped to handle prosthetics [such as the one used on Amitabh Bachchan for Paa]. When I returned, I expected things to have changed, as we had talented producers, directors and artists, who knew it was unconstitutional to stop one gender from becoming a part of the fraternity. But on realising that nothing had changed, I decided to fight it out.
Can you relate any particular incident that unnerved you?
In 2009, I was working with Kamal Haasan on the sets of Unnaipol Oruvan, the Tamil remake of [the] Hindi film A Wednesday! when the association people came and interrupted the shoot. It was both embarrassing and humiliating for me. The actors were happy with my job and giving me work. But I found the weird rules of the association very disgraceful. It’s bizarre to after all think of make-up without associating it with women. At that point I had the choice to either quit as thousands of women had done before me, or to take up the fight.
But hadn’t women been working as make-up artists on the sly?
Yes, even I had done it many times by sneaking into the vanity vans or hotels to do make-up on actors and actresses. But then we had to have a man to represent our work at the shooting site. Not only would he take credit for the work, but also share the payments. It did not naturally affect the producer, director or the film star, but people like me, whose sole income came from it, [were the ones suffering]. And even though it was sometimes humiliating for actresses and they resented getting body make-up done by a man, especially when wearing skimpy clothes, there was nothing they could do.
Isn’t it surprising that despite numerous women’s organisations in the country no one felt the need to fight for the rights of women artists?
Yes, it is. In fact, I approached the National Commission for Women (NCW) in 2009, when Girija Vyas was the Chairperson and also Member of Parliament. If she were really keen on taking up the matter, it would have been resolved then, because she had the power and it was a genuine case. But the case went on for six years. Meanwhile, both the chairperson and members kept changing. However, it was during Mamta Sharma’s tenure as chairperson in 2011 that things began moving. She showed eagerness and the case was taken to the Supreme Court. I want that women’s organisations should come forward in such matters and they need to be stricter and helpful.
BOX
• Charu Khurana was born on May 20, 1982, in New Delhi to mother Neelam and father Ashok Kumar Khurana.
• She did her schooling from Greenfields School, New Delhi.
• Graduated through correspondence from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu.
• Obtained a diploma from the Cinema Make-up School, Los Angeles, US.
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