On Friday, April 3, Chennai-based Make-up artist Sringa shared a post with the caption: #dontrushchallenge Namma ooru version. Synced to the song Vaathi Coming from Vijay's upcoming flick Master, the two minute, 53-second video saw Sringa along with 12 other make-up artists from the city transition seamlessly from their sweatpants into full elegant glam - complete with a full face of make-up and a fancy outfit - while passing on a make-up brush that acted as a metaphorical baton.
While the #dontrushchallenge was not created by the Chennai girls but was started in America by a group of students, the "Namma Ooru" version has certainly created a buzz in the city. The Chennai challenge also stars Prakruthi Ananth, Sathyapriya, Nowshiba Shajahan, Sneha Manoj, Olivia Anugraha, Mogana Gnanasekaran, Deekshita Raja, Samantha Jagan, Anitha, Anusha, Salomi and Asmita ND.
Executed and edited by Sringa, the make-up artist who goes by the moniker Kabooki_MUA, wrote on her Instagram post: Such a great breather in times like these. This just a humble attempt to represent our community as a whole and the spirit. This is a tough time but I know we’re all gonna come back strong!"
"It has been a hard period for time for a lot of us. Schedules have been pushed, shoots have been postponed. For someone who is a workaholic like me, always hustling, always on the move...someone with a packed schedule, long periods of inactivity can be excruciating," explains celebrity-MUA Prakriti, who was also part of the video.
Sharing with us the experience of shooting for the video, Prakriti, better known as Praks, tells us that being part of the challenge allowed her - as a senior member in the fraternity - to highlight the feeling of 'togetherness even in isolation'. "Make-up is something that all of us love - it is a unifying factor - and collaborating with the others for the video brings back a sense of normalcy. Whether you have been an artist for two years or one for 10 years, all of us are going through the same thing!" says the make-up artist, who has been the industry for over a decade and worked with the likes of Shruti Haasan, among many others
Samantha Jagan, also a celebrity MUA and stylist, who runs Wink Unisex Salon, chimes in and agrees that the world needs more positive content right now. "In literally 24 hours all of us came together as a community to create a video, even if it was for just for fun. At this point in time, I truly believe that even if we may not have it all together, together we have it all."
Watch the video here: