Actors who didn’t use prosthetics to play real life characters in biopics

Bollywood off late got into the race of churning out period drama films or biopics. To play the part of an actual person, prosthetics and heavy makeups are mandatory to look similar to the person an actor is playing. Although the art of make-up has evolved immensely, with technology and tools enhancing the look of actors, increasing the authenticity ten folds in a biopic, there come a few who prefer to go the natural way, using no prosthetics and very little makeup to pass off as actual people. Here are 5 actors who stuck to the bare minimum make up and still nailed the look for the real characters they are playing on-screen.

Hrithik Roshan – Super 30

Bollywood’s most flexible star is all set to play the role of a mathematician. Vikas Bahl’s Super 30 is an upcoming biopic on the life of noted mathematician, Anand Kumar and his educational program called Super 30. In order to play the protagonist, Hrithik preferred to go the no prosthetics way and the actor, whose Greek god looks are an international phenomenon, managed to transform into the small town genius, with bare minimum make up.

Ranveer Singh – Gully Boy

Zoya Akhtar’s much talked about Gully Boy, based on the book written by Vivian Fernandes, popularly known as Divine and Naved Shaikh, aka Naezy stars Ranveer Singh as the famous rapper, along with Alia Bhatt. Although he underwent a major transformation, shedding all the muscle from Padmaavat to get a lean frame, like Divine, Ranveer chose to not get prosthetics to play the part.

Richa Chadha – Shakeela Khan

The Fukrey actress is all set to play the role of South India’s famous adult star, Shakeela. The biopic, directed by Indrajit Lankesh, will see Richa play the actress’ younger self, as the film focuses on the early life and the rise to stardom of the 90s icon. For her role, Richa also chose to stick to getting the look right with make-up and the attire, using no prosthetics for the part.

Rasika Dugal – Manto

Rasika Dugal is all geared up for the release of Nandita Das’ biopic on the Indo-Pak poet, Saadat Hasan Manto, which will see Rasika play Manto’s wife Safiya, while Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be seen in the titular role. Despite Manto being a period film, focusing on the years after partition, all the actors in the film have portrayed actual people without a hint of prosthetics. The leading lady herself has an uncanny resemblance to Safiya, according to Manto’s own daughters and using only minimum make up and authentic outfits to suit the era, has transformed into Manto’s wife.

Anupam Kher – The Accidental Prime Minister

The Accidental Prime Minister, which is based on the 2014 memoir by the same name, will see Anupam Kher playing the role of our ex-Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. Using authentic outfits and minimum make up, the veteran actor has managed to look exactly as the economist, following the natural, no prosthetic way and adapting the mannerisms of the politician to execute the role perfectly.