Namrata Soni on 25 Years of Redefining Beauty in Bollywood

In the second episode from our Mumbai series, we sit down with Namrata Soni, one of India’s most celebrated makeup artists and the creative force behind some of Hindi cinema’s most iconic looks, from Main Hoon Na to Aisha and beyond. In this conversation, Namrata opens up about her two-decade journey in beauty and film, and what it took to fight for her place in Bollywood at a time when women weren’t allowed to work as makeup artists. She shares stories from her collaborations with Sonam Kapoor, Farah Khan, and many others, reflecting on the moments and choices that have shaped her remarkable career. Namrata is also the founder of Simply Nam: a homegrown, conscious beauty brand born during the COVID lockdown, designed to celebrate and serve the unique beauty needs of the Indian woman. 0:00 - Introduction 1:43 - Nam’s skincare routine 3:20 - A daily essential beyond SPF 4:14 - I was a complete tomboy 06:25 - I wanted to study economics growing up 07:36 - Studying makeup in London 8:27 - The Hindi film industry was completely male dominated 13:45 - I was manhandled and dragged out of movie sets 16:40 - Do upcoming HMUAs know about the sexism in the industry? 17:35 - Life working on Bollywood movie sets 23:32 - Main Hoon Na, Aisha and others 26:00 - The crossroads 27:45 - Career regrets 29:15 - Keeping up with the new age 31:45 - The hunger to rise to the top instantly 33:15 - Holding a conversation in the makeup chair 38:30 - Pros and cons to today’s make up industry 42:30 - Launching Simply Nam 49:05 - A recommended multi-purpose product from Simply Nam 51:10 - India’s obsession with fairness 54:00 - Homegrown brands and manufacturing 57:30 - What does Namrata have strong game in? A special thank you to team DSPR for making this happen. Find Namrata & Simply Nam on: Website: https://www.simplynam.com/ Namrata's Instagram:   / namratasoni   Simply Nam's Instagram:   / simplynam.beauty   Follow BGS on: Instagram:   / browngamestrong   TikTok:   / browngamestrong   Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1KRk9vQ... Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... To be the first to get updates on new episodes, please do give us a subscribe or follow!