‘My father had a cardiac arrest when he was cutting Amitabh Bachchan’s hair,’ reveals Aalim Hakim

‘My father had a cardiac arrest when he was cutting Amitabh Bachchan’s hair,’ reveals Aalim Hakim

Celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim, known for giving Bollywood’s biggest stars their signature looks, has shared an emotional story about his late father, Hakim Kairanvi. He was one of the most respected stylists of his time. In a recent interview with Screen, Aalim revealed that his father passed away while working on the hair of none other than Amitabh Bachchan during the shoot of Mard in Mysore.

Recalling the heartbreaking incident, Aalim said, “My dad died doing his haircut. His last haircut of life was of Amit ji. He was cutting his hair, he had a cardiac arrest. It was during the shoot of Mard in Mysore. So he was doing his continuity haircut, while doing so, he complained of chest pain, and the next day he passed away.”

Hakim Kairanvi was among the most sought-after hairstylists of the 1960s to 1980s and was closely associated with several Bollywood icons, including Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Dutt, and Dilip Kumar. Sharing how the legendary collaboration began, Aalim revealed, “My dad’s collaboration with Bachchan saab was right after his first film. Everything he did after Saat Hindustani was all done by my dad. Reshma Aur Shera was Amit ji’s second film, and Sunil Dutt was there, who was my dad’s client. So it was Dutt saab who introduced my dad to him. The collaboration started then, and it lasted till the very end of his career.”

Aalim proudly mentioned, “All the popular hairstyles you see in films like Sholay, Zanjeer, Don, Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewaar — my dad was the man behind it.”

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Hakim Kairanvi’s client list wasn’t limited to Bollywood alone. As Aalim recalled, his father’s reputation transcended borders. “My father worked with everyone. Be it Dilip Kumar, Shatrughan Sinha, Jeetendra — you name the top-most stars, and my father did a haircut for all of them. And not only Indian actors but also international stars used to desire to get a haircut done from my father whenever they used to visit India,” he shared.

His clientele included Bruce Lee, Richard Harris, Mohammad Ali, and England cricketer Tony Greig, all of whom sought out the celebrated barber during their visits to India.