Mumbai stylist loses new car with hair, make-up worth lakhs

Mumbai: This man is truly bereft, and to make matters worse, he has no foundation to disguise his anguish, or concealer to hide his disappointment.

Well-known make-up professional Cherag Bambboat has been spending days in agonising wait, desperate for some leads that may help cops recover his car, which was stolen from outside his South Mumbai home on the night of April 15.

Though the car is insured, it contained all the paraphernalia of glamour that was indispensable for his work.

Cherag said, "I parked my car a little after 11 pm, outside my home behind Purnima Building, close to Morarka bungalow, on the junction of Carmichael Road and Altamount Road, on April 15. As there is a parking space crunch in the building, I parked it outside. My car was a brand new Maruti Suzuki SX4, bought on January 11. It had cost me Rs 8.5 lakh."

The blow came at an ill-timed moment, as Cherag was gearing up to leave for a working trip to New York and London, for auditions of the hit new television series Just Dance, for which he was in charge of hair and makeup. He had to cancel the trip.

"On the morning of April 16, my chauffeur told me that my car was not at the spot, where I had left it the previous night. I knew immediately that it was gone. I lodged a complaint immediately, at Gamdevi Police Station, and was attended to by Inspector Diwadkar," said Cherag to MiD-DAY.

It has been more than two months since the theft, and Cherag is getting ready to claim insurance, once 90 days are up. He had insured the car with Future Generali Co Ltd.

However, what is irreparable for Cherag is the extensive loss of equipment, which he had left in the boot of the car.

"I usually leave my makeup kit in the car, as it is too heavy to lug around. The boot of the car was packed with makeup from high end, prohibitively expensive brands like Mac, Chanel and Forever Armani.

Since I am a professional, the kit comprised all the paraphernalia of glamour that celebrities use, including skin primers, eye shadows, powders, blush-on, lipsticks, eye-liners, lip liners, false eyelashes, and tools, such as tweezers and hair dryers," he said.

He further lamented, "There was also head gear. The kit had very expensive hair extensions made of real human hair, which are virtually indistinguishable from the existing hair, when put on. All in all, I lost Rs 2.85 lakh worth of branded makeup, and hair extensions to the tune of Rs 1.85 lakh."

Cherag added, "I also missed my scheduled trips to London and New York because I lost so much equipment. My tickets had to be cancelled, and all my dreams were dashed."

Cherag claims that the police officers he reported the theft to, seemed incredulous and somewhat amused that makeup and fake hair could cost that much.

"My parents have made innumerable visits to the police station. However, the police have asked them to discontinue their visits, and give them some time to investigate the matter. They said an average of 60 cars a day get stolen from Mumbai," said Cherag.

Cherag signed off with a word of advice for his colleagues, "Please insure your expensive makeup and hair. I didn't know that this kind of insurance is offered, or I would have opted for it myself."

Cherag Bambboat is a top makeup artist who has worked on television shows like Zara Naach Ke Dikha with Shilpa Shetty, Vaibhavi Merchant and Arshad Warsi, and Just Dance with Hrithik Roshan, Vaibhavi Merchant and Farah Khan.

Now, he is working on India's Most Desirable with Simi Garewal. He has also worked for the Femina Miss India pageant with Neha Dhupia, Tanushree Dutta, and Marc Robinson, and was associated with Sushmita Sen in her venture 'I Am She'.