Life & Style | People
Let your hair down
Bollywood’s best known hairstylist is setting up shop in Dubai.
- By Jyoti Kalsi, Gulf News Report
- Published: 00:00 September 24, 2005
Bollywood's best known hairstylist is setting up shop in Dubai.
Aalim learnt hairstyling by watching his father, Hakim, style the hair of famous Bollywood stars such as Amitabh Bachchan. Today, he is himself a much sought-after hairstylist in Bollywood.
His celebrity clientele includes Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgan, Anil Kapoor, Kajol, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.
Aalim's salons in Mumbai, called Hakim's Aalim, are the favourite haunt of filmstars, models and everyone who wants to look cool and is not afraid to experiment.
And now, the bold and beautiful of Dubai can experience the magic of his scissors at Hakim's Aalim in Dubai.
The salon for men and women is a part of Crossover — Bollywood se, a Bollywood themed store due to open next month in Bur Dubai.
Tabloid caught up with the celebrity hairstylist last week for an exclusive interview.
Aalim was excited about opening his first franchised salon outside India.
"Hakim's Aalim will be different from other salons in Dubai because our vision of hairdressing is different. We believe in giving individuality. We train our stylists to create trends rather than follow fashion magazines."
"We do not encourage our clients to bring along cuttings from magazines to copy a celebrity's look; instead we give them the confidence to try a look that expresses their own personality and sense of style. We also encourage them to try different looks rather than sticking with the same haircut," he said.
To stimulate creative thinking in his staff, Aalim offers free hair haircuts in his salons once a week.
"This attracts many college students and other adventurous fashion lovers and gives my staff a chance to experiment and innovate," said Aalim.
He emphasised that to be creative, one must have an open mind and listen to the customer. "A hairstylist must spend time on understanding the personality and lifestyle of the customer before picking up the scissors," he said.
Thanks to his attitude and his natural talent, Aalim constantly sets new trends with the bold and innovative hairstyles he conceives for his star clients. Among his recent successes are Kaante, Bhoot, Khakhee and Masti.
"I try to create a totally new look for the stars in every film. It is challenging because the style must suit the star as well as the character he is playing. It should be compatible with the costumes and the overall look of the film. And because a film takes about a year to make, the style must be futuristic and very different from current trends," said Aalim.
Whether he gives them a spiky Mohawk look, a clean-shaven head or a goatee with blonde highlights, the stars trust him completely.
"My father styled Amitabh's hair and gave Abhishek his first haircut. Because of our long association, the stars are comfortable working with me."
"Some like Saif Ali Khan give us inputs about the look they want, while others like Ajay Devgan leave it entirely to us. But today's stars are extremely professional and respect professionalism in others," said Aalim.
His favourite though is Salman Khan, because he likes to experiment with his look, both on and off screen.
"When he goes out partying, Salman likes to try wild looks that he cannot do in a film. He loves the Elvis look and for Janeman he is growing side burns," revealed Aalim.
As for his dream customer — "I would love to style David Beckham's hair," said Aalim. Although he acknowledges that his celebrity clientele provides great publicity for his work, Aalim insists that he has more fun working on his other clients.
"A star cannot be too funky because ordinary people must identify with his character and him. But ordinary people have the freedom to experiment and be as funky as they want."
"Having a hairstyle that suits them and makes them look good enhances people's self-confidence and can transform their personality. Why should anybody copy Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie, when they can have an even better style?" asked Aalim.
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