Stylist Aalim Hakim: The head turner man

He started working professionally at the age of 16 and since then, has created a niche for himself in the world of styling and today, the mention of Aalim Hakim is enough to turn heads. Having worked on most of the film industry — men and women — Aalim has also styled members of the Indian cricket team and visiting cricket teams from around the world. Ironically, the man, whose middle name can justifiably be ‘style’, has chosen to sport the bald look as he explains jokingly, “Why turn all the attention on me?”

Aalim’s decision to take to styling was probably the most obvious thing — his father Hakim was a hairstylist to most of the leading Bollywood actors of his time — be it Amitabh Bachchan or Rajesh Khanna. “I was nine years old when my father passed away and my uncle initiated me into the profession. Of course, I knew where my passion lay and to study styling, I travelled to London, Paris and Austria,” he informs, adding, “But, while in college, I was very confused about what I intended to do. I was actively into theatre with my classmates Shreyas Talpade and Vivek Oberoi and thought for some time, that was where my calling lay.” For starters, Aalim started experimenting on his friends. “I used to enjoy making people look good and I soon realised I’m the only one wanting to be different. And when my styles started turning heads, I had made up my mind,” the stylist recollects.

Of course, the change of fortune hasn’t been sudden. “It took a lot of hard work just like most jobs do and there was a lot of learning on the job involved as well. Gradually, my clientele ranged from models to actors to sportspersons and in a way, they were ambassadors of my styling,” Aalim says, adding, “My friends helped me immensely and from a two-seater salon, we now have salons in most major metros of the country along with Dubai.” The workaholic that Aalim is, he chooses to take no off days and confesses that the secret to his popularity is the fact that “I treat even the biggest of stars as my clients just as I treat my regular clients as the biggest of stars.”

For someone who has had his roots in the film industry, Aalim is grateful to the likes of Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan for trusting him blindly. “Our parents have known each other and they have given me a chance as a friend. But then again, they won’t welcome me if I hadn’t proved my worth. It took me 20 years to fill the gap my father had left,” he states. Styling actors and films have been his forte and it’s no easy job. “It’s a hands-on job, not something that happens in the studio. There has to be a lot of interaction with actors, directors, costume designers and even the scriptwriters. The industry is very professional now and actors think of each scene. They want their look to be honest, not overly done-up and artificial,” he says. And who would be the most experimental actors? “Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Aamir Khan — all have healthy hair and what’s most important is that they are pretty experimental too,” he says adding, “Among the women, Katrina Kaif, Kangna Ranaut, Soha Ali Khan, Minissha Lamba, Celina Jaitley, Neetu Chandra are my clients and very stylish actors too. In fact, women are more conscious by nature and justifiably so — it’s a look driven industry.”

Aalim has been doing what he always wanted to do but he defines styling differently. “It’s a lot like making a film — I give it my best but I need to wait and see the eventual outcome. There have been times when I’m probably not completely satisfied but I know how to accept my flaws,” he puts, simply.

People mostly want to look like someone and it happens everywhere. Apart from having an observant eye, a stylist also needs to be able to foresee and that’s no easy task either. “Often I have requests to make people look like a particular person and that’s when I need to brainwash them into believing in themselves — there really isn’t any background music when we are walking on the road,” he signs off.