A project through which I depicted beauty and how it is featured in the Indian society and known to define the characteristics of a person.
I created a beauty product line based on a few characters from famous Indian Television serials and made a sarcastic comment on how exaggerated makeup is used to highlight their traits. The beauty line was named 'TRP' as it is the criteria that defines the popularity of any Television serial.
Once I did my basic research on these TV serials, I picked out a few characters popular among the Indian audience and related them to specific products which were then packaged into TRP boxes.
For the audience to be able to understand the sarcasm, I used satirical taglines as descriptions of the products. A few examples of which are stated below.
Baa Anti Aging Cream: Clinically proven to provide your face an effective wrinkle-free skin for life. With double nourishment this product helps replenish moisture, which leaves you with a skin that is younger looking than your great grandchildren. It gives you immortality.
Prerna Rouge: A non-greasy and water-proof formula for daily use, that provides you with more than the right amount of subtleness, and all the freedom for your tears to stream out. It makes your skin look pale, just what you need to get away from all the complex situations of life and remain innocent forever.
Komolika Lip Colours: Enriched with extracts of sinful oils this product nourishes your lips, giving you the essential benefits that you need – evilness, sluttish-ness and sinister-ness. A formulation for those who wish to have their lips blood red and exaggerated to enhance their inner wicked qualities.
Nakhushah Foundation: Indulge yourself in the sensation of being one of the most hideous faces in this world. This caring formula gives an effect to your skin that leaves it repulsive and monstrous. Secure yourself from all those molesters, waiting to rape fair pretty girls like you.
Ramola Bindis: Those olden times of using natural forehead decorations are long gone. We introduce you to a large variety of TRP Ramola Stick-on Bindis. Different Bindis for all the 365 days of the year. Match it with your clothes, make-up and especially your mood. You could create your own designs by combinging two or more to suit your mood everyday.
Through this visual essay, I wished to highlight the overly dramatic and pretentious stereotypes that Television serials in India, create. And these soaps have been contributing to forming such images of the society in the minds of those million people who religiously follow such shows.
