It took the intervention of James Bond actor Sean Connery, but now the label "Made in Bangladesh’’ appears on some of the most gruesome make-up products used by Hollywood and on film sets and theatres around the globe.
From bloody wounds and oozing gashes, to false chins and devilish horns, Kryolan's small plant on Dhaka's Export Processing Zone is supplying the world's leading professional make-up artists.
"When we first started the German owners were concerned about using a Made in Bangladesh label," said Yesmin Ipphat, chief executive of Kryolan Bangladesh.
"But one day on a film set someone asked where the make-up came from and people were surprised at the answer. Sean Conncry said he didn't care where it was from as long it was Kryolan quality. Since then we have used the Bangladesh label and I am very proud of that," she added.
It's an odd niche, but according to Yesmin the Bangladeshi plant is a world leader when it comes to providing make-up for cutthroats, split open stomachs and the scars caused by hanging.
These 3-D special effects, along with false noses Kryolan has a range of 18 different types - ears, chins, and bald caps, are crafted in rubber by a team of around 35 skilled workers.
The group also makes false eyelashes assembled from human hair brought in from So utlr Korea.
Based in Berlin, Germany, Kryolan set up its Dhaka plant in 2001. "The company wanted to spread its operations into the third world and there was a Bangladeshi German working for the com pany who convinced them to come here," Yesmin explained.
Globally the group produces creams and professional greasepaints.
"Our company supplied the make-up and costume for the box office hit 'Titanic,' Yesmin said.
"When the heroine Kate Winslet finds her lover frozen to death in the icy water, the make up her and Leonardo di Caprio are using is supplied by Kryolan,” she added.
The company also produces military camouflage that is used by several armies including the US. "The com pany plans to talk with the Bangladesh Army to see if they will use the products," she said.
At the Dhaka plant the range is at present limited to around 15 products. Staff sit at desks with paints and brushes carefully decorating rubber wounds and scars.
One of them, Jostna Banu, 35, is putting the last dots on a small rubber horn, ready to be used to turn an actor on the other side of the world into a ghoulish beast.
Jostna doesn't know the film it will be used in, in fact she's not really sure where Hollywood is, but she works methodically, ensuring there is no smudging and that the design she is given is followed.
Like Yesmin, she is proud that monsters are ‘Made in Bangladesh’.
Jasim@thedailystar.net