Catching up with Furious 7 make-up artist Zera Azmi

Catching up with Pakistani make-up artist Zera Azmi who worked on the set of Furious 7. She talks rubbing shoulders with the stars, the hot Abu Dhabi weather, and working at Emirates Palace.

Furious 7 make up artist Zera Azmi. Courtesy Zera Azmi

Pakistani make-up artist Zera Azmi, 30, has lived in Dubai for 20 years. She has previously worked with twofour54 on film projects such as Djinn and Deliver Us From Evil. Azmi led a team of six hair assistants and six make-up artists on the Furious 7 set, and was in charge of handling the make-up for all the local talent.

Did you get to rub shoulders with the stars?

I was working so it was not my top priority to be speaking to the stars. I have a document with twofour54 not allowing me to discuss the make-up looks, the actors or any of that.

Where did you shoot, and for how long?

It was for a total of five days. At Emirates Palace we had a beach scene so all the models and actors were in their bikinis and swimwear.

How did the weather affect the filming?

It was extremely, unbearably hot. The heat was a big issue. All our extras, all the stars were just sweating, they were burning –honestly it was awful. We were spraying sunblocks in the faces of the actors – we just kept spraying them over and over. It was a shame, those guys were burning up badly. But there was nothing we could do to help, it was just that time of the year.

Did you get a lot of onlookers?

We got tourists who were staying at Emirates Palace looking on, but the area where we were shooting was well blocked off so they were quite far away. The beach is big and they were only towards the entrance of the back doors; they couldn’t get onto the beach.

How did your friends and family feel about your involvement in the film?

They’re all huge fans of Fast and Furious so for them it was actually more exciting than it was for me, initially. Everyone was chuffed. But I wasn’t allowed to ask for any photographs or autographs to take to my friends.