A hair-raising tale of Mumbai’s wigmakers

Over the last 50 years, their clientele has changed from movie stars to cancer patients, but the city’s wigmakers are keeping up with changing trends

A stitch in time saves nine; we’re familiar with that adage. For wigmakers in Mumbai, a stitch in time could probably save a bald person a lot of embarrassment. The city’s wigmakers don’t only cater to those in dire need of a mop of hair.

Victor Pereira, 62, has worked on some of the most beautiful women in India: Rekha, Hema Malini, Saira Bano, Jaya Bachchan and Rakhee can testify to this. A wigmaker for over 44 years, he made wigs and hair extensions for many of the film industry’s starlets. His guru was the noted make-up and wig artist of the 60s and 70s, S Amin. “In those days, no movie could be made without me, as wigs and hair-dos were really big then,” says Pereira.

These days, though, he no longer works for the film industry; his main clients are cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. “Making wigs is still a passion for me,” he says. And he’s tapped into a growing international market, where the demand for high quality, custom-made wigs never lets up.

Wig-making is also a passion for 64-year-old Rajan Bhawnani who has been in the profession for 41 years. And like Pereira, he, too, has a filmi connection, having worked on movies like Aandha Kanoon, and the more recent, Sarkar.

“When I started out, the concept of wearing wigs was new, and was limited only to the film industry,” says Bhawnani. Nevertheless, he started a shop, Monarch Wigs, in Colaba.

The making of a wig is a long and tedious process. It is an art that requires precision, skill, and most important of all, patience. It begins with collecting hair, usually sourced from temples in South India, Tirupathi in particular. “The hair that we get comes in a raw form, and we make it nice and wearable. The hair is processed, shampooed and then sterilised,” explains Rajan. Then the real work begins.  The customer’s specifications are kept in mind, and the hair is cut, coloured, styled, straightened, or curled. “Getting the correct colour is a tedious process involving repeated testing on smaller strands of hair,” says Victor. Once the hair is styled, it is woven onto a cotton mesh with skin-coloured material to give it an authentic look.

The weaving of one wig can take as long as eight days to complete, if done properly, and the finished wig can last for four years, if maintained carefully. After that, say the wigmakers, the hair begins to fade and loses its lustre. Once the weaving starts unravelling, it renders the wig unusable.

“Most wigs are handcrafted. There are machines, but they cannot do much. It is better to make the wigs by hand so that it fits the customer’s specifications. No two wigs are alike,” says 44-year-old wigmaker, Pankaj Bhupatkar, who has been making wigs for more than 26 years. Bhupatkar’s profession was a family trade, and today, he’s the owner of Rajkamal Wigs in Charni Road.

Bhupatkar, however, believes that wig-making is a dying art, and bemoans the lack of proper training facilities. “There are no training centres or institutes that teach you how to make wigs. I learned my skills in South Korea and China.” He feels that the lack of facilities that translates into fewer skilled workers is what plagues the wig-making industry.

Compared to Pereira, Bhawnani and Bhupatkar, 49-year-old SH Kadam is a novice. After catering to the movie industry for 15 years, he left it to start his own shop — Pravin Hair Weaving and Wigs, in Mulund. “Making a wig is a lot of hard work, but it is worth it.” Most of his customers are private clients who use the wigs for daily wear.

The demand for wigs, either for cancer patients or private users, has increased over the last few years. The major reasons for this, the wigmakers say, are hair-loss and premature balding.

And while synthetic wigs, though cheaper, are available, they have few takers. “Wigs made of real hair are more popular than synthetic wigs; they look better,” says Victor.
It’s a matter of vanity. The price of an average (shoulder-length) custom made wigs starts from Rs4,000.

But despite the prices, these wig-makers say it’s not a lucrative business. Bhawnani says: “It’s not worth getting into the business now. You need lot of space, and the lack of skilled workers is another disadvantage.” Most are in it for the love of the job.
“This line is very different from others, so you need to be prepared to work very hard,” says Kadam.

It’s an unusual job, one that gets them acquainted with the capricious nature of life. From the glitz of tinsel town to the ravages of cancer, one thing remains fairly constant: Vanity, and the need to look good, no matter what.
l_joanna@dnaindia.net