King Lara

THIS IS AN OLD TOPIC.... STILL RELEVANT, I THINK..............



His name means scholar. Fun and Brad Pitt inspire him.

Hair is his passion. His biggest challenge lies in the hair of his clients. And we mean the likes of Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Suniel Shetty, Fardeen Khan and Ajay Devgan.

Hairdressing is, after all, a family business. Son of Hakim, the man who gave Amitabh Bachchan his distinctive haircut, Aalim is now busy streaking Bollywood men in shades of gold, bronze, silver and blue.

And this is how it all began:

My father [Hakim] was into hairdressing. He died when I was 10. I have memories of watching him give haircuts.

At the age of 16, when I was in FYJC [First Year of Junior college], I started giving haircuts. I started practicing on my friends. The next year, I started charging them. I became a professional by the age of 17. It gave me a chance to earn good pocket money as well. Plus, I was having fun with this profession. Everybody liked my work.

I did quite a few short-term courses. I always knew how to cut hair. But I took short courses of five-six days to acquire technical knowledge. If a foreign hairdresser came to India to conduct a seminar, I would attend it without fail to keep myself updated.

Like father, like son

My father had a huge celebrity clientele, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar and Vinod Khanna.

I have memories of going to their houses and having fun. Then [after my father passed away] there was a gap of about 15 years. Now everyone [stars] has started coming to us again. It's almost like old days. I am expanding myself. I haven't yet gone into Hollywood yet. My father did the hairstyling for Bruce Lee and Richard Harris also!

Earlier, hairstyling was all about getting a certain hairstyle and maintaining it. Now, there is so much vision. Earlier, there weren't so many television channels, so the vision was blocked. The general thinking was 'If one thing suits me, let me continue with that, as nothing else will suit my face.'

Now, people get bored of their looks in three, four months. Stars here keep watching Hollywood stars. Like how Brad Pitt sports a different look in The Mexican, Troy or The Fight Club. Indian actors copy them and change themselves in every film as well. So the vision is very important to me. The more you see, the more you learn.

The Wonder Years

When I was in [Mithibai] college [in northwest Mumbai], I would act in plays. Vivek [Oberoi] and I were classmates. Sometimes, he used to direct and I would act and vice versa.

We were together for six years doing theatre. Even so, I never wanted to enter the acting profession. I always wanted to be a hairdresser.

Vivek's father [Suresh Oberoi] used to come to my father for hairstyling. My dad was close to him. We [Vivek and I] were quite friendly. I had asked him to grow his hair long during college. Then he left for New York to pursue higher studies.

The rise of Aalim

I started working very young, so things were difficult for me. But my PR was very strong. I would always hang out with my friends and do late nights. It is always better to have a good PR when you are really young. And my friends were always older than me. When I was 17, my friends were about 26!

They would come for haircuts and recommend my name to their friends. It became easier for me after two, three years when everyone started coming in. Gradually, directors, small time models like Shawar Ali and finally stars started coming to me.

It took some time before it struck me that suddenly stars like Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan are calling me. It may have been due to word of mouth publicity. People know I am a guy with no tantrums or ego hassles. When I am not hairdressing, I party with them. It's a good relationship.

Star & style

Stars usually look up to me for hairstyles. We always discuss first. We try to get along on a friendly basis. It is important to understand the actor's nature. What will look nice on him? Will he be able to carry this hairstyle? Do I need to break his public image?

Sometimes, Salman Khan or Sanjay Dutt tell me what kind of look they have in mind. Ajay Devgan leaves everything up to me. I was worried Ajay might be fidgety. But things happened very smoothly. He agreed with me on everything. No one thought blonde streaks would look nice on him. But everybody loved him in Qayamat. I gave him a different look in Khakee.

It is also important to have sittings with the director and dress designer to know the nature of the script. You cannot make an actor look funky if the character doesn't demand it.

Most fashion conscious: Saif Ali Khan. He understands fashion very well. He knows what will look nice on him. So whatever I do, he will see and check; then agree to it. Other actors don't care so much.

Most adventurous: Sanjay Dutt. He loves to experiment with his hair. Even in the beginning, when no one sported long hair, he did.

Most popular hairstyles: My look for Sanjay in Marco Ricci advertisements and Plan, Fardeen Khan for the Provogue campaign, Ajay Devgan for Qayamat and Khakee and Saif Ali Khan for Kal Ho Naa Ho.

Actor with the best hair: Suniel Shetty has the best hair among the guys in the industry. He has got nice, thick South Indian hair. You can play a lot with his hair.

Actor with the best attitude: Salman Khan. He doesn't follow but sets his own trends.

Actor in need of makeover: I would love to change Abhishek Bachchan's hairstyle because he has never tried anything new.

Actress I'd love to style for: I see a lot of spark in Sushmita Sen. She can carry off fashionable stuff. She doesn't look dead. She is very lively.

Aalim's style icon: Brad Pitt. He really influences me. In every film, he looks so different. He carries himself so well. Be it Legends Of The Fall, Snatch, The Fight Club or Oceans 11. He has the guts to try something different. I believe in his style of fashion. Other stars with nice hairdos are Tom Cruise and Hugh Grant.

Aalim's mantra: I am not just a professional. I interact with my clients on a humanly basis. I try and get to know their take on fashion, hairstyles and movies. I come to know what kind of styling the stars believe in by knowing their choices. I do the same for both locals and stars. Unless you are good with your locals, you can never do justice to your stars.

What's in? Wacky hairdos, depending on how you carry it.

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THE DEADLY DUTT

Priyank

hahahaha thanks ani bhai where r u this days

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