Bollywood’s biggest hairstylist died penniless, family was left with ‘nothing to eat’ despite counting Bachchans, Kapoors as friends

Also read – ‘Hrithik Roshan and Kapil Sharma don’t wear wigs or patches; their hair is absolutely real’: Celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim

Asked if anybody from the industry stepped forward to help out, or take Aalim under their wing, he said, “We didn’t get any help. We got help from unexpected people. It’s not like people from the film industry showed up. Some of them did, yes, but very shortly. Nobody stays with you. Bolte hain na, chadhte sooraj ko salaam. That was the situation. All the stars who used to come home every day, they stopped coming by. Nobody stayed. My mother would go around asking for help, telling them that we didn’t have anything to eat. They did what little they could, but they help to a degree.”

Aalim said that the experience made him world-weary. “They’re all self-centred, and let me tell you one thing, even today they’re the same. They meet you nicely, they’re friendly, but you have to work for yourself. As a child, all I wanted to do was earn my father’s respect back, to keep his legacy going.” He said that he had learned nothing of the trade when his father passed, and had to train himself. “I would be inspired by newspaper cuttings of him… He worked with them all; not only Mr Bachchan, but also Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna, Jeetendra, Shashi Kapoor. He would travel with them. He was iconic.”

Asked if any of these people offered a helping hand, Aalim said, “Let me tell you what this industry is like. They’re all nice to you, but the second you make a flop movie, nobody will speak to you. A hero will party with you, share meals with you, but he will never work with you if you’ve made flops.” Aalim has created a successful business of his own, and continues to work with the Bachchans. He has also styled the who’s who of the film industry, from Ranbir Kapoor and Rajinikanth to Hrithik Roshan and Allu Arjun.