Manisha Koirala and Madhuri Dixit as Bollywood's best

Make-up artiste Jaywant Keshav Thakrey lists Manisha Koirala and Madhuri Dixit as Bollywood's best.

I first met her for the photo shoot of 'Saudagar'.

Later I did her make-up for a magazine cover. After seeing it, Rajiv Rai approached her for 'Gupt'. Consequently, she insisted that I do her make-up for 'Gupt'.

Her look in the song 'Telephone booth mein hasne wali' (Hindustani') was appreciated.

She has a face, which can carry the simple and the glam look. For 'Mann', she was required to wear make-up only for the song 'Nasha yeh pyaar ka nasha'. She looked lovely even without make-up.

She takes good care of her staff. She has even helped them buy houses.

Manisha loves food. She will enjoy everything from a vada pav to bread and butter to Japanese cuisine.

When she purchased her new house, she called me home, showed me the plan and asked for suggestions. I was touched.

Every year she attends the dandiya event in my colony and participates with the children.

I know her since her debut 'Abodh' (1984).

With make-up, she looks a killer. She has a wonderful smile, which reaches her eyes.

Her look in the 'Sailaab' number- 'Hum ko to aaj jai' was much appreciated.

She insisted that I do her make-up for 'Devdas'. We collected pictures from that era. We used a New Zealand hair product (for wavy hair), which we searched all over Mumbai for.

For the 'Mar daala' number we used tattoo mehendi with diamonds. We took bits from a pazeb, a choker and a chappa and made a maang tikka out of it.

She had to wear a 40 kg lehenga with glass pieces, but she never complained.

Whilst shooting for the 'Que sera' number ('Pukar') in Hyderabad, the temperature had reached 50 degrees. But she worked quietly.

Once she attended my son's birthday party. She readily posed with my neighbours for photographs.

She loves the mutton curry that my wife cooks.

Today, she says, she is happy feeding the kids and doing homely chores.