SHABIHA NUR KHATOON, OP
When it comes to dolling up sultry damsels there are few who could give Aasif Ahmed a run for his money
It is but a natural urge to copy the looks of India’s favourite damsels like Kriti Sanon in Raabta, Parineeti Chopra’s experimental locks or Amy Jackson’s stunning new hairdo. And when it comes to hairsplitting, these celebrities have one thing in common – their best-loved hairstylist Aasif Ahmed.
Aasif has all the tricks up his sleeves; from managing flowing long locks to perky bobs, he has done up the tresses of celebrities to perfection. Before leaving for New York for International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA), the celebrity hairstylist shares some magical tips that go to making celebrity hairstyles fabulous and worthy of emulating.
Aasif Ahmed was born and has breathed the air of Mumbai. In his initial days, the hairstylist has had a lot of career switches. A commerce graduate, Aasif started his career as a web designer with the entertainment website Bollywood Hungama. Subsequently, he stepped into sales and then joined UTV Movies for marketing, PR and celebrity management. Post that, he got into production and started pursuing his true calling of becoming a hairstylist.
Asked what attracted him towards the off-beat career, Aasif said: “When I was of a tender age, I used to admire the way my mother used to blow dry her hair. In fact, it was the process which gave a new texture to her hair and that was what intrigued me. Moreover, I was always fascinated for different hairstyles. While working with UTV, I realised that this is not something I wanted to do so I thought of taking my passion to the next level. One fine day, I gave up my job and decide to follow my dreams.”
In 2011, Aasif professionally step into the field of hairstyling but his parents were not happy with his choice of career.
“While I was working in a corporate setup with a secured job, my parents were satisfied but when I pitch the idea of hairstyling, they were a bit reluctant. However, they have always been supportive to what I have done in my life and taking up hairstyling was no exception,” adds the hairstylist.
Hairstyling is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Every job he has done in different phases of his career and every move that he made, has worked pretty well for him and currently, the hairstylist which he believes will be the longest profession of his career, quips the hairstylist while narrating his experience in the glamour world so far.
Aasif who style many celebrities from the Hindi film industry, so who is your favourite pick?
“Every work has been memorable from day one. Every client has been extraordinary and fun to work with. There were days when I have done my job in 15 minutes and there were days when it took hours to create a new look for an actress. When it comes to compliments, when I started my first hairstyling project, I was meant to replace an artist who was already on board. After noticing my work for a day, I was hired for the entire project for a top actress. That itself was so complimentary and motivating that I believed I could bring the best out of someone with my skills. And this was only in the first three months of my work. The love we receive from the fans of the actresses is unmatched and keeps us going every day,” he says.
“Every celeb that I worked with has been special. So it would be difficult to pick a favourite as all of them believed in my work and have brought the best in me as a stylist. I have been very fortunate to work with the best people from the industry,” says Aasif
Recently, the hairstylist did a topsy ponytail which was highly appreciated by people and there were request from people to make a video on that. The topsy ponytail is a simple hairstyle, something that every girl would do that on a daily basis. The tutorial video will be out very soon.
Each one of us have a role model or a person whose work we look up to, likewise, Aasif likes the work of hairstylist Mira Parmar who style Deepika Padukone’s hair in ‘Cocktail’, which was considered to be fashion forward and brought a change in her look.
