If rumours are to be believed, there was a time when ex Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, didn't do a photo shoot if makeup artist Cory Walia were not in charge of her already picture-perfect face. Let's take a look at what makes him so special.  

Cory Walia is one of the most renowned names in tinsel town, and on the fashion circuit. Born Karamjit Singh Walia, to a Sardar father and a Maratha he changed his name to a more pronounceable, Cory. In fact, few people know that he's the maternal uncle of flop actor, Rahul Roy.

Like most people from the fashion field, Cory grew up fascinated by his grandmother and mother, who were both beautiful women.

"As a boy, I used to watch them with fascination while they put on make up, or when they dressed their hair." They were both particular about their grooming, he tells us, "And perhaps, I even learnt the art of make up then, playing around with their cosmetics."

For nearly thirteen years, Walia has been painting the faces and conjuring up glam looks for models in ad films, ramp shows and photo-shoots. But much before he chose the magic in his mascara wand, Cory's line of work was rather unglamorous.

He used to manage his father's wholesale liquor business. "It was boring to the core, but I had only that business for making a living."

One day, however, as Walia walked down a footpath in the Fort area in Mumbai, he stopped to see a poster of kittens - "I am mad about cats" - and at the bottom of the poster he read some words which turned his life around.

"Doing what you like is freedom, but liking what you do is life - those were the words that changed my entire perception of life. I had always done whatever I liked. Been there, done it all! But I was tired of living like a whirlwind."

Acting on impulse, Cory Walia immediately gave up his business of Rs 6 crore to his debtors, and went off to the US for two years. There, he did every kind of work from cooking, to hairdressing and even being a waiter in a restaurant. 

"When I came back to India, I assisted Jojo, then one of the top makeup artists at the time. He had a vacancy for an assistant as his assistant had left him and gone to Paris. Jojo himself wanted to migrate to the US.

So he trained me, and recommended me to several of his clients," says Cory. Being the talented person he is, it did not take him long to get into the swing of things and make a substantial name for himself by creating faces and looks for top models.

In thirteen years, Cory has hosted the beauty segment on Zee Khoobsurat, conducted numerous workshops, demos and talks on the art of make-up, and has even represented the houses of Lakme and Chambor at various stages in his illustrious career.

More recently, he has done the Lakme press and TV ads, the look for the Lakme India Fashion Week, Elle 18 cosmetics ads, Aquafina and Smirnoff. Music videos have seen his magic touch too.

In the whacky Gabbar Mix video, it was Cory who made-up Namrata Barua.

But what is the status of glamour makeup in India at the moment? Says Cory, "Make-up in India has gone through a virtual revolution in the last 10 years.The liberalisation of the economy in the early nineties gave a tremendous boost to the advertising industry in these years.

Before that, make-up was boringly monotonous. Most make-up men or women were nobodies and they blindly followed western trends. They hung around models and actresses, and were certainly not celebrities themselves.

Their palette of make-up was limited, and technology and photography or cinematography did nothing to enhance or showcase their art. All this changed, however with films and ad films becoming big money projects. Blame it also onthe boom in the fashion industry, the success of the Miss India's on a global scale, and the media boom."

Today, the cosmetic industry is more technology-driven feels Walia. "Sprays, peel off make-up, ready made looks, false cheeks, chins, noses - all these are possibilities. Already, women are changing their eye or hair colour at the flick of their fingers.

The more women hanker after beauty and whimsy, the more cosmetics will be created, and the more techniques will emerge to give them what they want."

These days, Cory gets calls to do makeup for socialites before they go out for their kitty parties and soirees, and trendy brides who want a distinctive look.

But surely, having worked with so many celebs and stars, Cory must have his favourites? "Malaika Arora is duskily beautiful; Aishwarya Rai is the perfect beauty; Lisa Ray is the epitome of sensuality; Madhu Sapre has a wonderful bone structure; and Ujwala Raut has enough whimsy to give her an elusive, tempting look," he says, all in one breath.

"The most versatile male face is Arjun Rampal's among the Indian models, other wise, it's Gary Oldman," he elaborates when you ask him if any men are on hislist.

And how does Cory define beauty? "A woman does not have to be externally beautiful," he says philosophically. "She becomes beautiful because of her shapely body, youthful look and her 'attitude'."

The only complete, classical beauty, in Cory's opinion, "Who looks good even with dark circles under hereyes, is Aishwarya Rai." Walia stresses, "You do not have to be conventionally beautiful.

Medha Patkar looks absolutely stunning with out anymake up. Her skin, bone structure and her strength of character andconvictions sets her apart."

Yet, with all his fame and talent, why hasn't Cory entered the film line more prominently? "I can't work with people who short-change you constantly. Unless the star stands up for you, you never get paid in the film industry. Hence I prefer to work with stars at a personal level. I burnt my fingers when I worked on Preity Zinta in Soldier.but I never got my money though the film was a super-hit. Preity never stood up for me!"

But whether it's Bollywood, Hollywood, or the bride across the street, Cory Walia is a force to reckon with and no one begs to disagree!