Meet Bollywood’s Coveted Hair Designers

MUMBAI, (IANS) – Cinema has always created fashion trends, from Sharmila Tagore‘s bouffant to Sadhana’s fringe that was influenced by Audrey Hepburn, Parveen Babi’s glistening long flowing tresses, Dilip Kumar’s lone curl, and Amitabh Bachchan’s career-altering haircut.

Shah Rukh Khan allegedly let his hair grow out once while his favorite stylist, Dilshad Pastakia, went on maternity leave. Stars only trust a select few stylists with their hair. These days, hair designers-famous personalities in their own right- are employed to complete the “look” of the entire star cast in movies.

Darshan Yewalekar

One of the youngest and most prolific hair designers in B-Town, Darshan Yewalekar is the stylist who dared to shave Ranveer Singh’s head to transform him into the Maratha warrior of ‘Bajirao Mastani’, gave him a distinct, grungy look in ‘Gunday’, turned him into a formidable Khilji in ‘Padmaavat’, and into none other than Kapil Dev in ‘1983’. He has also worked with superstars such as Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar and is styling the cast of Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’.

Ambika Pillai

This award-winning hairstylist and beauty expert has worked extensively in advertising, films, and fashion since the early 2000s. A hairdresser cum make-up artist, she has set up eponymous salons across the country. Ambika is a winner of various awards and has styled well-known celebrities like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu, and Malaika Arora Khan. She has also executed hair styling for musical plays, airline crews, news stations and celebrity brides.

Sapna Bhavnani

Celebrity hair stylist Sapna Bhavnani has worked with well-known personalities in sports, entertainment, business, and politics. Her clients include Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, John Abraham, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Siddharth Mallya, and Dino Morea. She also worked with Ranveer Singh in ‘Ladies vs Ricky Bahl’. In 2004, Bhavnani started her saloon, ‘Mad-O-Wot’ in Mumbai and launched a second branch in 2011. Since 2010, she has also diversified into production and has also written a self-help book, ‘Style-O-Wot’, which is packed with style and fashion tips for teen girls.

Raaj Gupta

Raaj Gupta is the style wizard behind Shah Rukh Khan’s unforgettable looks in ‘Don 2’, ‘Ra. One’, ‘Happy New Year’, and his cool messy bun in ‘Pathaan’. Raaj has been styling Shah Rukh since 2008’s ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ and is known for his attention to detail and for creating cohesive and nuanced looks for cinematic characters. A former BPO employee, Raaj has also worked with actors like Shahid Kapoor and Celina Jaitley and has been associated with top fashion brands such as Schwarzkopf, L’oreal, Kevin Murphy, and Tresemme.