Glam-Sham & Woe

One fine afternoon in 2019, Bollywood star Sonakshi Sinha created quite a buzz after a video of her wearing handcuffs and seemingly getting arrested went viral. “Yeah, I got arrested. Why do you ask? Because it’s a crime to look this good,” she said. It turned out to be a PR activity for a cosmetic brand. “You can pose whenever, wherever,” Sonakshi said, referring to the brand. When Kannada actor Pavithra Gowda, the prime accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, impersonated Sonakshi Sinha in real life, it raised questions about the necessity for an accused person in custody to apply makeup. When the prime accused in the sensational Renukaswamy murder case wore makeup in police custody, her superiors issued a notice to a woman cop.

While regular society conditioned women to find self-worth in their looks and pride themselves on maintaining appearances, some argue that makeup and self-care are crucial for undertrial and convicted prisoners to feel worthy and normal. So, what makes Pavithra’s glam looks in police custody a big deal? What’s in an appearance? Apparently, a lot, thinks Dr Era Dutta, consultant psychologist, TEDx speaker, and founder of Mind Wellness. She says, “There has been a lot of scrutiny around Pavithra’s “normal to well-put-together appearance.”

Coping Skills

“Make-up doesn’t necessarily have to indicate a lack of remorse. It can also be an outcome of coping skills. Many people find solace in make-up when faced with pressure and stress. It helps them take charge of what is under their control — their physical appearance,” explains Era Dutta. Optics, too, come into play. “In the field of glamour, there is a regular audit of who is wearing what, where, and why. It’s possible that the lady in question (Pavithra) may want to maintain the optics to protect and maintain a projected image in the industry,” she says.

Era suggests that the issue may also stem from overcompensation. “While coping is one aspect, the other extreme can also be to think that to ‘appear innocent,’ one needs to not change anything and follow suit as usual,” she says.

Personality Traits

In certain personality traits, one can come across an overemphasis on clothes and make-up as a way to appreciate their self-worth. Another aspect is conditioning, something for which society sets higher and more varied standards. “People may not scrutinise a clean-shaven man wearing an expensive watch and perfume at all,” she says. The negative aspect of excessive over-the-top makeup and a flawless appearance is that people may interpret it as a lack of remorse, a lack of empathy, and a lack of respect for the criminal justice system, according to Era. She adds that while the public will always project their own thoughts on the situation, it is unfair to simply judge based on appearance.

Not allowed

Senior IPS officer Vivek Dube, who has investigated several high-profile cases during his stint in the CBI, says whether it is police or judicial custody, it requires the utmost alertness of the concerned authority to ensure that the prisoner must not be able to cause any harm to his or her own body. Dube, who has previously investigated sensational cases like the Madhumita Shukla murder case and the Bilkis Bano case, among others, during which he interrogated several suspects and accused, speculates that the makeup or lipstick

Pavithra Gowda used may have contained some poisonous substance, which may hasten her death. The 1981 batch officer says the Prison Manual doesn’t permit it.

Referring to Pavithra’s case, where a female police official received notice, he asserts that superior officers had the right to take action against the officials for their slackness.

Looks Matter

In the past, several celebrities who were summoned by different agencies in connection with various offences turned up with their best looks. Be it Jacqueline Fernandes appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the Sukesh Chandrasekhar case, Deepika Padukone arriving at the Narcotics Control Bureau for interrogation in the drugs case, or Rakulpreet Singh appearing before the ED in connection with a money laundering investigation and NCB in the drugs scandal, The bottom line was that looks do matter, irrespective of the circumstances.

Make-Up Study

Research by some US agencies suggests that access to cosmetics reduces violence among inmates, a phenomenon credited to the heightened sense of self-esteem that attending to one’s appearance can bring. Various studies have found that inmates with a greater sense of self-worth also reintegrate better after serving their sentences.

Jail Make-up

Tricks  

In the 1920s, women inside England’s Holloway Prison scraped paint chips off their cell walls to use as face powder and dampened red paper to use as rouge.

In 1929, women inmates in New Jersey used pages torn from prison library books to twist and curl their hair and pencil(ed) their eyebrows with charcoal.

In the 1950s, wax paper became a hit in some US prisons as inmates melted it down and used it to straighten hair or give it shine.

Women even pocketed sticks of butter and mixed them with pencil shavings to create mascara and eye shadow.

Some Indian jails regularly offer beautician and hair stylist courses to women inmates. They try their skills on fellow inmates (facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, and hair styling, among other things).

Make-up doesn’t necessarily have to indicate a lack of remorse. It can also be an outcome of coping skills.” — Era Dutta, consultant psychologist, TEDx speaker, founder, Mind Wellness

The Prison Manual doesn't permit it (make-up). The superior officers had the right to take action against the officials for their slackness.” —Vivek Dube, Senior IPS officer