'Heeramandi', Hair & Makeup Designer, Preetisheel Singh D'souza

0:00Preetisheel Singh D'souzaFor me, I switched careers when I was 29 years old. Money was finished, everything had gone, whatever savings was done. LA is very expensive

0:08Jawad MirThe moment you start focusing on, oh, that was a great shot, or that was great editing, or that's a great costume, or great hair and makeup, you've lost yourself from the story.

0:16Preetisheel Singh D'souzaIt's just not okay application. Okay, we've just applied a little bit of your lipstick. That's about it. If Manisha Koirala's sister, she got a scar, there's a story behind that.

0:26Jawad MirWhat was the character that you enjoyed the most?

0:29Preetisheel Singh D'souzaManisha Koirala, she did a fa… fabulous job. Like, what a comeback. You know, like, you can't relate that a mother would behave like this.

0:37Jawad MirSibejaan. She was, to me, she was the right balance between the world…

0:43Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely

0:43Jawad Mir... Of independence and the world of the, you know, the…

0:46Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yeah. I recently started learning how to do that, where, I'm, I treat my past as a things or as lessons learned in life rather than the baggage of it, rather than carrying the baggage of it home.

1:09Jawad MirIf you can tell me your involvement in the series, and if you had worked with, Sandeep Varma in the past as well.

1:19Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah, this is my, sixth project with him. So I started off with Bajirao Mastani and, then Padmaavat happened, Lagan, Bhatiawadi. And, so I, my specialization is character design. So I read the script and, as per my understanding, I design the full look. It can be a combination of makeup, hair, and prosthetics. Either ways, whichever, whatever is the, requirement from the script. So as per that, I design the full looks.

1:56Jawad MirYeah. Great.

1:58Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSo like if you see Tilji, in Vijay Raaz's character in Laghu by Alia's Ajay Devgan. So how they all want to look, so that's my speciality.

2:09Jawad MirAnd your team focused on certain number of characters or all the characters within the series?

2:16Preetisheel Singh D'souzaFor Heera Mandi, yeah, for you, like the other films, we did the full films. And for Heera Mandi, we did the full cast except for Sharmin. Rest all the characters were designed by me.

2:28Jawad MirHow big is your team?

2:30Preetisheel Singh D'souzaDecent enough. Yeah. So we have, like, we have a workshop over here. One, it's one of a kind in India, like a full prosthetic lab. We do all prep and everything over here. It's called the makeup lab. So I got around about 25 people working in the workshop, and then we have freelancers who keep rotating as per the project requirements.

2:51Jawad MirRight. Excuse me, this microphone's kind of going off. I apologize. Yeah, so my next, question was going to be more about, your beginning. You know, we'll come back to Heera Mandi in a second. Like how... W… I always like to know because I'm, just like anybody else, I have a story. We all have stories, and being in the business, there's always something that sparks people's interest into doing what they wanna do, right? For me, it was when Jurassic Park came out. That's when I knew that this is what I wanna do. I wanna make films for the rest of my life. And what was that for you? Was there a specific moment that triggered to you where you are today, launched you to where you are today?

3:42Preetisheel Singh D'souzaIt's, it's just been there since childhood. I'm also like movies are in our blood ce… in my blood and veins. It's like that growing up. But yeah, I used to, watch a lot of films while growing up. All old Hindi films with my mom and then all action films with my dad. So, the, to be, to be connected with cinema has always been there. But I never found a proper channel, and I come from a very small town in, Punjab. It's called, it's called Pathankot. And

4:14Preetisheel Singh D'souza... While growing up, yeah. So we just like, well, when we were growing up, we had this option of becoming an engineer or a doctor. So I did engineering.

4:23Jawad MirOh, you did? Okay.

4:24Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. I've done that. So, I've done my B Tech electronics. I have worked with TCS as a software engineer for four years, and then I quit my job in 2009. And, but I've always, you know, for me, the drastic change, you know, when you used to watch, Mrs. Doubtfire and Chachi 420's adaptations and Planet of the Apes and…

4:49Preetisheel Singh D'souza... It just, it is like the power of makeup that how much it can transform you to another level. You can take a face, and you can create anything out of that. And I think the job was done beautifully, executed beautifully, and that's where the interest kind of, started, accumulating. And, I used to tell my mom, and she would be like, "we don't know anyone in the industry. How, what will you do? What will you go over there and..." But, eventually, after working, for two and a, three years approximately and, in TCS, I decided to put in my papers and I decided, you know, I just kind of figured out. I said, there's, whenever there's prosthetics involved or whenever there's characterization work involved, they always call people from US or UK. And, so I found that little loophole. I said, "Let me do that. Maybe I'll get..." Because, and it was a untouched market and untapped. And, that's when I decided. I went to LA, did my course, and then I came back to Bombay and then…

5:50Jawad MirWhere did you go, where did you go in LA? Sorry, I cut you off

5:53Preetisheel Singh D'souza... Cinema makeup school.

5:54Jawad MirOkay.

5:55Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

5:56Jawad MirGo on, please.

5:57Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAnd, that's when I came to Bombay, and after that, and little strugg… struggle is there. Would go around showing my work, showcasing my work, and, Then by I got my first film and then by the word of mouth people started liking and, that's what we've been doing good since then.

6:17Jawad MirThat's awesome. So I wanna go back to that same question I just asked you. There's, there has to be a moment, not just a series of movies, right?

6:24Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

6:24Jawad MirLike, did you see m… did you see a movie like Mughal-e-Azam, for example, right? And that inspired you. Like, cer… was there a certain movie or a certain look that…

6:33Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yeah, Chachi 420, Kamal Hassan films because he was big…

6:37Jawad MirOkay, sir. Yeah

6:37Preetisheel Singh D'souza... On transformations, yeah. So at back…

6:39Jawad MirOkay

6:39Preetisheel Singh D'souza... In the '90s, his films had the most impact in terms of changing looks and creating different characters. Amrish Puri was also one big inspiration because he would do a lot of makeovers himself only. But yeah, Chachi 420 when it came out, Hindustani, these were the films I would watch. And then…

6:56Jawad MirGot it

6:56Preetisheel Singh D'souza... Plan of the Apes. Yeah.

6:58Jawad MirOh, so you saw it. Which Plan of the Apes? The Tim Burton one or the old '60s one?

7:02Preetisheel Singh D'souzaThe old '60s one I watched, and then, we watched that and I would... These are all the action films I would watch with my dad. And, so it's just like being associated with movies and coming to Bombay was something I was very sure about. But how to... You know, it, I was too y… maybe young and naive to understand which line I wanted to go into. And, fortunately I kind of selected this and it gave me a big leeway. And, you know, I came from US and I thought, you know, I'll be the only one, you know, making prosthetics, be one of the kind, and I came back to Bombay and there would be no material found in India related to prosthetics.

7:47Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAnd then, did approximately two and a half years of experimentation to find the chemical substitutes. And from there, you know, stabilized things and now it's pretty much on a auto mode right now, so yeah.

8:05Jawad MirSee, just like in any department of film, you know, people don't... I'm talk… when I say people, I mean, like, average moviegoers, right? Who don't know what goes behind the scenes with everything, whether it's art direction, whether it's research for a script, whether it's makeup, hair, and all that. And, you know, people watch it two hours, three hours, in this case, like almost eight hours of series, and they will praise it, like, amazing costumes, amazing hair and makeup, and that's where it ends, right? That's, that's pretty much…

8:35Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

8:35Jawad Mir... Where it ends. People don't understand, like, the amount of research. Like, you just said something about, you know, having the right chemical.

8:42Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes

8:42Jawad Mir... A… and it's, it's, it's a lot of work. What was the most challenging aspect in this production, even though you had worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali and he demands perfection, in this particular series that was very challenging of any character or even a story on the set where things didn't turn out because a certain amount of lighting was not going to be, was not adjusting with the makeup and hair properly. Any story that you can share?

9:12Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI think the most challenging part of this project was when you have so many stars at the same level performing… ... And to create a demarcation between them, and to... And besides the fact they all have, in a way, a devious role, but making each character stand out on its own so that it's just, it's not lost in translation. Everyone has their own personality. That's why when I read the script, I understand the story, what's the story behind it, how the character grew up, what challenges, it faced, and how it came to be. So these are the very... It's just, it's just not, okay, application, okay, we just applied a little bit here or lipstick, that's about it. If, by, if Manisha Koirala's sister, she got a scar, there's a story behind that. Or when Bibo gets her this thing. So all these aspects are worked on. And, then I present, well, I start off with presenting digital design, so that was that very important stage. But fortunately, I've been working with, Sanjay sir for a long time now and, he's al… he's always, he always loves the kind of work that I deliver to him, and always try to make it different.

10:27Preetisheel Singh D'souzaThe challenging part of every project becomes in such a way that you've got to... You know, in your, in your head you think you've got to be better than what you've delivered last time.

10:36Jawad MirYeah.

10:36Preetisheel Singh D'souzaPlus you've got to, make something which should not feel out of place from the script's point of view. It had the characters need to sit and, perfectly as per the storyline. So that was one of the biggest challenges. But, I feel like... And as you said, it's, it's,.. You know, people just finish the full thing in two hours, but the amount of work that it takes in creating that, you know, like, for Mr… for Sanjay sir to create a picture-perfect frame with every story, this thing, so that takes a huge amount of, I guess, love and dedication and resilience and all of that. Yeah.

11:18Jawad MirYeah. And, you know, the great thing about his work is... And I w… I was speaking to, who you... I'm sure you have worked with him, in this film. Sudeep Chatterjee, right? Who did the cinematography.

11:30Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yes. Yes.

11:31Jawad MirAnd it's, it's, it's very challenging, right? To... In any kind of film, but specifically in this kind of, like, a period piece or the work that he has done in the past or specifically here on Monday, is that you have to have obviously a great story. Like, everything starts with a story, right?

11:48Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

11:48Jawad MirAnd a great, and great characters that carry that story.

11:51Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

11:52Jawad MirAnd then to have everything else around it, whether it's set, costumes, hair and makeup, to be done in such a way where it doesn't overpower that, it just blends in.

12:02Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes.

12:02Jawad MirLike, that, I think that is the, one of the most challenging parts, for any artist, specifically in hair and makeup as well. And I thought that was really well done. Like, I, you know, you don't... The moment you start focusing on, oh, that was a great shot, or that was great editing, or that's a great costume, or great hair and makeup, you've lost yourself from the story. It just has to be very subtly in there.

12:23Preetisheel Singh D'souzaVery seamless, yeah.

12:24Jawad MirYeah. And, what was the character that you enjoyed the most? Not from a standpoint of hair and makeup, but just as an audience member, relatability.

12:35Preetisheel Singh D'souzaIt, from Heeramandi, you're saying?

12:38Jawad MirYeah.

12:39Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah, I think, I think, Manisha Koirala, she did a fab… fabulous job. Like, what a comeback, and, I think the way she kind of, attuned herself in,... You know, like, you can't relate that a mother would behave like this, and all the... She has to keep up with the full decorum of the Shahi Mahal, at the same time be contradicted by what her daughter wants. I think she did a fab job, and rest of the cast also, they did great. They were great, and, but I think she kind of stole the show in that.

13:17Jawad MirYeah. No, she was…

13:18Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

13:18Jawad Mir... She was fabulous. I really enjoyed, I always forget, like, actor's, actress' name. She played Bibhu Jaan? The revolutionary…

13:25Preetisheel Singh D'souzaOh, Aditi. Aditi

13:25Jawad Mir... Revolutionary.

13:26Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

13:26Jawad MirYeah. I enjoyed her character too because she was, to me, she was the right balance between the world…

13:33Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely

13:34Jawad Mir... Of independence and the world of the…

13:36Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes, yeah

13:36Jawad Mir... You know, the Shahi Mahal. And I thought she, sh… her character was really well done. Going back to your struggles, right? Everybody struggles at ev… I shouldn't use the word struggle. Everybody, go… goes through tough time, goes through failure, goes through

13:55Preetisheel Singh D'souzaStruggle is, I also, I feel, is a decent word because, you know, that kind of defines... Now, when you're going through that phase, it feels very difficult and it feels very, you know, like this, you… I've got nothing left in you. But later on, when you don't give up and you're kind of resilient and very diligent towards what... At least I feel I have that quality where I don't give up. If I've picked up something, I want to achieve it to the max level and, you know, fine-tune it, make it, like, picture perfect. It is just there in me. So s… I feel struggle is an apt word because that kind of defines you also, what choices you make going ahead in life, so.

14:36Jawad MirYeah, no, it's, failure only happens when you give up. But at the same time, failure is very important because we all learn from failure more than we learn from, you know, succeeding. But what I was gonna ask you, was there a moment, whether it was last month, last night, or 10 years ago, where you felt, "This is not working out, you know, I need to..." Not necessarily pivot, like, you just kind of feel, like you said it yourself, you just completely get lost in your thoughts, where is this going? Was that, if you can rem… mi… remember one of those moments and how you overcame it, whether it was in Heeramandi or just any other time.

15:16Preetisheel Singh D'souzaNo, it was during, you know, for me, I switched careers when I was 29 years old. So… ... That became very huge. And I, we came from a very, regular family, so, you know, getting a proper salary, making sure the in… the source of income is there, that was a huge, big deal, and giving up all that, and then again starting from scratch, ground zero. So that was a big challenge. But yes, you know, when I, we didn't know anyone in Bombay, and every morning I had this small diary. I would take it out and I would open JustDial, and I would write production houses, in Juhu or Bandra, and I would note the address, and I would take the local and, then just go around, you know, showcasing, "Oh, I do this kind of work if ever you need." So that was a bi… huge struggle, and I didn't get work for almost a year and a half after arriving in Bombay. So of course, you know, you kind of feel that, you've made the correct choice in life or no by giving up, this thing and again starting from scratch. But I just kept on going. So whichever project I picked up or whichever work I started getting, I would give it, like, my 1,000%, and, wait, you know, like, and, I always had this thing, where, I would read a story and I would have this character going in my head, okay, he's going like this or he's wearing this kind of costume and this kind of ambience is there.

16:47Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSo that m… it's just been there since childhood, and I thought, you know, because back in the '90s, characterization of a character, of the, actors was not given too much heed over here, especially in India. And this has…

17:01Preetisheel Singh D'souza... Changed, like, just recently only. So, I got myself involved in more of characterization, of how... Like, Khilji is one very in… like, in very initial, initially I had created Khilji, and I got such big applause from all across the world. I would get messages of how the drastic change of Ranveer, is there, and at the same time he looks like a different character. And, he looks like something, someone who the... You know, my idea of Khilji would be, like, when you, he enters the room, you just, you should feel menaced, you should be, feel scared, but at the same time so much authority, a little disgust also, and you would, you would feel manipulation. At the same time, he's like a beast. You know, he would just gorge on food, not shave his, body hair, and have this wicked smile, and have these two scars across the face. So that imagination, I kind of used it to my own benefit and started, drawing, sketching, started doing digital characterization, and that kind of created a different niche in the market, which worked in my favor.

18:10Preetisheel Singh D'souzaBut, yeah, but initially it would be when, that was my initial… One, two years of struggle where I thought, you know, have I taken the correct choice or have I taken this correct step in life? And because that money was finished, everything had gone. Whatever savings was done, LA is very expensive in terms of, everything…

18:29Jawad MirYeah

18:29Preetisheel Singh D'souza... You know, paying…

18:30Jawad MirYeah

18:31Preetisheel Singh D'souza... And education and all that. So that was a big risk, but I… it's paid off, so no regrets.

18:38Jawad MirNo, that's good. You know, you talked about Planet of the Apes, and you talked about digital design. And if you look at the new Planet of the Apes films, which I'm sure you've seen at least one of them, you know, it's all the motion capture technology, right?

18:53Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI did.

18:53Jawad MirLike, and essentially it is makeup, right? But it's…

18:57Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

18:57Jawad Mir... Through digital. And with the advent of AI, right, where things are just... Everything is becoming so real. I mean, I was watching this... Somebody sent me this video of Keanu Reeves, and it wasn't Keanu Reeves, trying to, forgetting to turn his iron off, and then he would go outside, and he'd come back, and he would unplug it. Like, it was just a funny video, but he looked e… exactly like Keanu Reeves in terms of his body mimicry, everything. Do you think there will be a time when AI…

19:30Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

19:31Jawad Mir... Would assist with hair and makeup? If so, would that something that you would like to sort of have in your pouch?

19:39Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSee, when this AI technology, all these new softwares, they came in lately, I was also very intrigued by it. But, and I did try, I did try a couple of softwares, but, at the end of the day, I've realized that at... You cannot match at... AI is created by human mind, and the kind of combinations that you can do in your own head is something that you, that you fed to the machine. And, their cap… their capability, the output-wise, very nice. I agree to that. You know, you can match the actor's face. You can match the whole look and feel and texture. But the emotions that come from inside, that is something AI will not be able to replace. AI is a... I feel has a very limited, this thing,.. What do you... I feel AI has a lot of limitations. I feel... I don't feel it can replace. I feel it… we can work in, cohesion together, or we can work,..

20:42Preetisheel Singh D'souzaBut, AI taking over the work is something I highly doubt.

20:47Jawad MirYeah, I don't think... So I don't know about…

20:50Preetisheel Singh D'souzaFor example, you must have seen Cats.

20:53Jawad MirYes.

20:53Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah. So, like, it was all CG-generated. It was all no... And they did not do any makeup or that. You could feel, you could feel this is not authentic. This is not something. That is what misses out when you make everything computerized and you lose the human touch.

21:09Jawad MirAnd I couldn't agree with you more. It's, that's something that has happened with this visual effects era, right? Like, I can't... I don't watch superhero movies. Like, I just don't. I don't care for visual effects unless it's part of the story, as opposed to the story being part of the visual effects.

21:28Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

21:28Jawad MirLike over-the-top explosion and nonstop. And yes, people are... I think people are fatigued by that now, right? The too many, too much special effects. The thing with AI, though, is I don't think it's gonna take over, but the way, at the speed it's evolving, right? The computer visual effects didn't evolve in that, in that same speed. Like, ChatGPT came out almost a year and a half ago. I mean, look where we are.

21:53Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

21:53Jawad MirRight? So I, my whole thing was that I think w… my question was, do you feel that AI will help you guys in creating the looks, but not necessarily completely replacing it? Like for, when I say creating looks, I mean, so you have made this look, right? Like it's on camera. Everything is great. Post-production comes. Oh, there's something that we have the option. Now we have the option to do something. Do you think that would happen?

22:21Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI'll give you an example. Like, lately when AI came in, and, you know, I w… I would, I was doing character design before that, before the AI picture came in. So for example, in Indian cinema, you have a lot of period mo… movies that happen.

22:36Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSo when the AI came into picture and, this Midjourney, all these softwares came, so, you know, like suppose they'll take, Hrithik Roshan's face or Ranbir Kapoor's face or Ranveer Singh's, Ranveer Singh's face, and they have to portray him as Lord Rama or some character from Mahabharata. The AI would make every character look alike, you know, because that's the l… that's the information that the AI has, okay? They'll have long hair. They'll have, they'll be bare-chested. They'll have that, like, you know, six-pack body and a dhoti. And so the creativity, your mind where you want to create a demarcation, of course, the actors, the faces are different, but at the same time, they all started looking the same. So that is, you can... They will... It can definitely help you to make your work faster, but it, I don't think the creativity that the, a human mind has would be able to be replaced by just the AI software.

23:32Jawad MirI agree with you, and I think even if it comes to a point where it starts to, the audience, I think, will not accept that.

23:40Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

23:40Jawad MirI genuinely feel that. And also let's as… presumably, if it does start becoming very dominant in the film industry, I also feel that people will get fatigued by it, and then…

23:52Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

23:52Jawad Mir... You know, the people who are not, who are not necessarily giving into AI completely but partially, they will become, very rare commodity, and people would want to hire them. So I think there's... That's where I feel it's going, but, you know, it's, it's tough to say with the…

24:08Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI think, I... It's a very simple thing. Making movies is all about emotions.

24:13Jawad MirYes.

24:13Preetisheel Singh D'souzaIt's about the director's work is to make the audience feel the emotions, what he is feeling, putting them across. So if everything is all about CG and graphics and then that we lose the whole purpose of why this art came into place at the very first, in the very beginning. So, that is, I feel, yes, it... You are correct. It, the audience will feel very fatigued because there's no connection, there's no relatability.

24:43Jawad MirAnd I couldn't agree with you more because I'm at that point now where the films that I look forward to the most are… ... The ones that are completely emotion… and story-driven. Like, I, like, for example, there's this movie coming out, which I highly recommend that you see the trailer of. It's c… It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the lady from Seinfeld.

25:04Jawad MirIt's called, it's called Tuesday. It ha… It's a story about a mother and her dying daughter, and their relationship, and there's this giant parrot that comes out of nowhere that becomes sort of like a conscious, and that's all visual effects. But you don't feel in the trailer that at all. It's this... Well, you will love the trailer. I can't wait for this movie to come out, and it goes back to what you said, emotions. It's deeply…

25:30Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah

25:30Jawad Mir... And but it's not gonna do wonders at the box office, right? That's the thing. People also like visual stuff. People's attention span has got… has gone short. But I couldn't agree more. Emotion and storytelling, you can shoot with a crappy camera.

25:44Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

25:44Jawad MirIf the story is there and the emotion is there, that's all that matters.

25:47Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes, absolutely. I'm more talking about…

25:49Jawad MirGo ahead. Go ahead, please.

25:52Preetisheel Singh D'souzaThat's all.

25:52Jawad MirNo, please go ahead.

25:52Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI think I just lost my chain of thought, so you go ahead.

25:56Jawad MirSorry about that.

25:56Preetisheel Singh D'souzaNo.

25:57Jawad MirWhat's, what's, something that you want to do that you haven't done, whether it's horror, whether it's, special effects makeups, or you've already done that, or anything that you haven't touched yet?

26:12Preetisheel Singh D'souzaOne, positive point, which I always take is I've never,.. I've always picked up different projects, so this way I've got the liberty of creating different characters every time. So I feel I've covered quite a bit of range and

26:29Preetisheel Singh D'souza... But, I am,.. One thing which I haven't done is making my own films, so down the line, I'm, I'm writing my own script. So that's something which I want to do. Yeah.

26:42Jawad MirGood stuff. That's awesome. Any, dreams of working in any other part of the world, whether it's Hollywood, whether it's, China, whether it's UK, Canada?

26:54Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSee, as long as long as you have a good content to work on and good environment to work in, that's something I believe in. I'll…

27:05Jawad MirThat's awesome

27:05Preetisheel Singh D'souza... Traveling is not a problem. Yeah. Yeah.

27:09Jawad MirGood answer.

27:09Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah, I think because you can see one thing, you have so many different perspectives to look at one thing, and when you start, when you start, training your mind to just look at things at a particular way, then you're restricting your creativity, you're restricting your art. And I always believe in different perspectives, something maybe the other person can see from where he's standing where I cannot see or judge. So, working with different people, new ideas, new... I'm always excited for that.

27:39Jawad MirI'm always a firm believer of talking to people. Now, that doesn't mean that I omit people that are similar to my views, but any kind of views, whether it's creative, political, social, I like to engage with people who have op… opposite views of me.

27:56Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah. That's, that's how, that's how you can have a conversation started or you can get different perspectives on thing.

28:02Jawad MirBut the best thing that you can get out of it is that you learn something from them, and they learn something from you.

28:07Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely.

28:07Jawad MirAnd I think... And that's something that's really missing nowadays in the world, where nobody wants to listen to anybody. You know, everybody gets into an argument, and then their point is right, and that's it. And I hope that, you know, we, as a society, we sort of evolve that. If there was one message that you wanted to give to your 10 years or 15 years ago of yourself, what would that be?

28:33Preetisheel Singh D'souzaGood for you.

28:41Jawad MirSorry?

28:41Preetisheel Singh D'souzaWhere you land. I wanna, I just wanna pa… give a pat on my back and say, "Good for you where I've landed." So I'm, I'm a firm believer in the learning aspect of things, so for me, learning is very important. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing mentally. And, so learning is something which I feel... And life will just be… become mundane if it is the same thing that you want to do, like, if you want to, like, if you have to do every day of your life, and, if you're, there are no new challenges, there are no new failures or no new recognitions or, successes. So that's life, and if we just give up on that, then it just, everything will just become like a flat plateau, and there'll be no excitement left.

29:29Jawad MirYeah. And where do you see yourself, and it's, it's, it's something that nobody can answer, but at least visually, you know… ... 20, 30, 40 years from now, would you be... Like, for me, I, at least this is my aspiration, like, I don't wanna retire. Like, I just wanna be continuing working, making films, you know, till my last breath. What is that for you?

29:55Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI, 20, 30 years, same as, like, I don't want to retire. I love learning new things, and, I just wanna keep growing and hopefully, have my own films by then. That's the goal.

30:12Jawad MirWonderful. Any particular film that you're working on right now that you're able to discuss?

30:16Preetisheel Singh D'souzaLike, I'm answering this question after a very long time. I would... You know, when we used to work in TCS, when we used to have the... Annual assessment happen every year, so even the manager would ask, "Where do you see yourself in five years, 10 years?" And I just got re… and it just took, it just took me back there. But, yeah.

30:39Jawad MirYou know, it's funny you mention that because…

30:41Preetisheel Singh D'souzaBut I think that it doesn't matter. I've not decided. I just feel I've, when I was younger, I spent too much time what happened in the past or what the future's going to hold for me. So, I've, I've kind of restrained myself going in that zone again. So I'm like, you know, taking one day at a time, have a good day, make it, like, full this thing, product… productful, enjoy, live the life, have a good sleep, and then get up next morning. But learning is something which is a very important part of my life, and…

31:14Jawad MirRight

31:14Preetisheel Singh D'souza... Yeah.

31:16Jawad MirYeah, no, I think it's important to live in the day, but, you know, we're human beings. We, no matter how hard we try, sometimes we... I think the, for me at least, it's not about thinking about the past or thinking about the future, but do think about the past in a good way. In, like, I asked you, like, you know, where have you, where were you 15…

31:35Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI've recently started thinking of that in a good way now.

31:38Jawad MirFif… where were you... Like, I talk about this. I just, talked about it to somebody on the podcast yesterday. It's like, you know, when you are kind of, we all have our days, right? Like this.

31:47Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

31:47Jawad MirAnd life is this. Like, it's a wave, right? When you're dipping down, the only way at least I feel I come out of it is, like, where was I five years ago, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago, and where I am today, and that just flips everything in terms of perspective of where life, you know, how lucky, how lucky we all are that you are a different place than you were 10 years ago or 15 years ago.

32:12Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely.

32:12Jawad MirAnd I think that's the most magical thing.

32:15Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah. It's like, I, that's what I was saying, that I've recently started learning how to do that, where, I'm, I treat my past as a things or as lessons learned in life rather than the baggage of it… ... Or rather than carrying the baggage of it with me. So these are the small changes, but I've spent too much time thinking about, you know, and, trust me, like giving up one career, and I've done all jobs. I've worked in a call center. I've sold momos. I have, I have done internships in a machine, washing machine factory. So for me, to reach the level where I have and to, I feel my, journey has been great, and I've started, I've, I've learned how to enjoy that now. And, so, and…

33:13Jawad MirGood for you.

33:14Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yeah. Yeah.

33:16Jawad MirThat's amazing that you went through all those different jobs, and I think that's what makes where you are today much more rewarding, had you not done all those things, right? Like, you have, you feel more, you feel, you feel more gratitude when you've gone through…

33:31Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely

33:31Jawad Mir... All that stuff.

33:33Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAbsolutely.

33:34Jawad MirYeah. Just to kind of wrap things up, Preeti, where, what projects are you working on right now that are coming out this year? Is that something you wanna talk about or you're able to talk about?

33:46Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSure. I'm working on Pushpa 2.

33:50Jawad MirOkay.

33:53Preetisheel Singh D'souzaChandu Champion is coming out.

33:55Jawad MirOh, okay. So you're working with, Sandeep on that, too?

33:58Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yeah. Oh, Sudeep.

34:00Jawad MirOkay.

34:00Preetisheel Singh D'souzaSudeep. His name is Sudeep.

34:01Jawad MirSudeep. Sudeep. Sorry.

34:02Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah.

34:02Jawad MirYeah, sorry. I... My bad. Su… Sudeep Chatterjee. Right.

34:05Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. And Kalki, we did Mr. Bachchan's look and the antagonist look in that. Kalki is coming. The Greatest of All, that's also a South film, Vijay's film. I'm go… we're gonna be starting with Mr. Bhansali's next soon enough. And then I have another project in pipeline. It's with Ranbir. So…

34:30Jawad MirExciting times.

34:32Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yes. Yes.

34:34Jawad MirHa…

34:34Preetisheel Singh D'souzaBut…

34:34Jawad MirHas the, has Sanjay Leela Bhansali's next project been announced, or is it just…

34:38Preetisheel Singh D'souzaNo

34:38Jawad Mir... It's under wraps, under wraps? Yeah.

34:40Preetisheel Singh D'souzaNo, it was announced, War and Peace film.

34:43Jawad MirOkay.

34:43Preetisheel Singh D'souzaJust a small poster had come out for that, but yeah.

34:47Jawad MirWhat is it called?

34:48Preetisheel Singh D'souzaWar and Peace, I think. Yeah.

34:51Jawad MirIs it based on the, Russian author's book?

34:55Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI still have to read the script, so

34:59Jawad MirYeah, because there's a very popular, book by Leo…

35:02Preetisheel Singh D'souzaAnd it is a novel also.

35:04Jawad MirI think it's called Leo Tolsey. It's called... It's a very popular novel, by Russian... Yeah. Leo Tolstoy.

35:14Preetisheel Singh D'souzaTolstoy.

35:14Jawad MirI'm wondering if it's, if it has something to do, it's like a South Asian adaptation of that or inspiration from there.

35:20Preetisheel Singh D'souzaI have to read the novel too.

35:21Jawad MirYeah. I mean, it may, it may not very well be. I'm just, like, that ring the bell, rang a bell for me when you said that.

35:26Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYeah. We have Baby John coming. Yeah. And then…

35:31Jawad MirWonderful

35:31Preetisheel Singh D'souza... We have a couple of web shows which are going on, Rana Naidu season two also.

35:37Jawad MirSo you guys must be working at least five to 10 projects at a given time, seven, eight.

35:42Preetisheel Singh D'souzaYes. Yeah, like six, seven are normal. So I go, I set the look, I design, I put the team on, and that's where, that way I'll, I'm able to do multiple projects. And, so whenever there's a requirement where I'm re… needed on set, then I'll go and, you know, book my dates according to that.

36:01Jawad MirWonderful. That's awesome.