After his father's death, there were only Rs 13 left in the bank account. From there, Aalim worked hard to create one of India's most high-end and luxurious hairstyling brands.
From Ranbir Kapoor's dashing macho look from Animal to Rajnikanth's superstar look from Jailer, do you know who is behind creating these sensational looks? Yes, you guessed it right, celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim.
He is known for his intricate styles and for creating new looks for not just film industry folks, but also cricketers like MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma. Virat's slit eyebrow look recently took the internet by storm. Aalim created his edgy yet sporty look that became an instant trend among King Kohli fans.
Hakim is also known for styling former Indian cricket team captain, MS Dhoni's hair. A few days back he revived Mahi's signature long-hair look and made millions of Thala fans happy.
Also Read: MS Dhoni Shows Off New Haircut by Aalim Hakim; Internet Showers Compliments
However, like any successful self-made personality, he also had his fair share of setbacks and challenges. Today he has an array of loyal celebrity customers, from singers, and actors, to athletes, but he had to work hard and pave his way towards success and stardom.
Aalim Hakim's father, the late Hakim Kairanvi was also a hairstylist, which explains Aalim's interest in the art of hairdressing. Aalim's father also had several celebrity clients such as Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, and Shashi Kapoor among others.
Hakim Kairanvi died at the young age of 39 when Aalim was a mere 9 years old. Hakim was a big hairstyling brand which was now Aalim's responsibility. After his father's death, there were just Rs 13 left in his bank account.
Talking about his hardships, Aalim opened up on Maniesh Paul's podcast and said, "I wanted to carry forward my father’s name. I wanted to do start from where he stopped. He was Hakim. I wanted to add my name to him – Hakim’s Aalim, and make it a brand.”
After his father's death, Aalim took over the brand. He turned his balcony into a hairstyling salon and practiced with his friends. Amid all the fancy hair salons thriving, it became difficult for Hakim to stand out with financial difficulties.
In an interview with Brut India, Aalim disclosed facing struggles to put a second-hand AC in his salon. His friends in college used to make fun of him for wanting to become a hairstylist.
However, he did not let these things stop him from working towards his dream. His life changed when L'Oreal noticed his talent and sponsored his education and sent him to assist international hairdressers.
In the 1990s Aalim started his salon and soon his work started to get noticed by celebrities like Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Ajay Devgan.
They are still his loyal customers among other celebrities and now his haircuts charge starts from Rs 1 lakh. Aalim is the epitome of working hard towards your dreams and fighting all the odds to achieve excellence.
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