Sourab Mitra: Using Ma Durga to spread social awareness about acid attack victims

An acid victim not only has to battle with herself  but also with society.

So, for this Durga Puja, Sourab Mitra has created a different look of the Devi, an embodiment of womanhood, where she partly sports the usual 'goddess' look and partly that of an acid attack survivor.

“Initially, I had decided to create a new look for this Puja season where it would consist of part clay and part regular makeup, since clay is the mainstay of a Durga Idol,” said Mitra.

“But one day, while returning home from a meeting, I heard the issue of acid attacks being discussed on the radio. Immediately, I felt vitriolage was an extremely important issue. I decided to use the Durga Puja celebration to spread social awareness regarding acid attacks. Therefore i chose this theme,” said Mitra.

“I have used all kinds of prosthetic products like skin wax, tissue, multani mitti and colours to achieve the desired look,” said Mitra.

Mitra explained the laborious process through which he got the blended look.

“First, I drew a line with a white pencil to separate the two sides.Then, I completed the goddess side of the face by applying foundation, concealer, and translucent powder to set the base. This was followed by elongating the eyebrow by using an eyebrow shaping gel to help give the look of a goddess. The eye was dusted with eye shadow, followed by application of kajal and liner, blusher, lip liner, and highlights  to complete the goddess look. For the hair, extensions were applied, and curlers were put.”

“For the acid victim look, I used a normal dry tissue and fixed it with the spirit gum. I added makeup and skin friendly colours to make it more realistic. Multani mitti was obviously an integral part of the entire look," said the artist.

"For the acid-victim look, I had to use skin-friendly colours, which required a lot of research. I had to source them from abroad, especially because this was not a regular look, even for the model herself," said Mitra.

Talking about his profession, Mitra said, “I was inspired to become a makeup artist by watching my gurus and especially my mother. I love to research about different kinds of looks and make up. I have an obsession about make up brushes," added Mitra, saying that nature is often an inspiration for him.

“M.A.C, Kryolan, Bobbie Brown, Estee Lauder, Inglot, Sephora, Benefit, are some of the brands that I love to use," said the artist whose creations usually range from glamorous to simple to even character looks for a film or photo-shoot.

(Reporting by Tanushree Sen, Images by Avishek Mitra/IBNS)