Hairstylist Aalim Tells Us How Ranbir Grew His Hair for ‘Sanju’

Aalim Hakim gives us an insight into how team ‘Sanju’ locked the iconic looks of Sanjay Dutt for Ranbir Kapoor.

Aalim Hakim with Sanjay Dutt in 2005 and Ranbir Kapoor in 2017. 

(Photo Courtesy: Instagram)

Aalim Hakim is one of the most well-known hair stylists in B-Town. While he is responsible for giving the most trendy haircuts to celebrities like Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Arjun Kapoor, and Abhishek Bachchan, Aalim is adding yet another feather to his cap with Sanju.

Aalim’s father Hakim Kairanvi was the one behind the most iconic hairstyles of Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sunil Dutt, Vinod Khanna, and Sanjay Dutt. Later Aalim continued styling Sanjay Dutt’s hair after he became a hair stylist.

Sanju has been an emotional ride for Aalim as he had to recreate the iconic looks of one friend (Sanjay Dutt) for another (Ranbir Kapoor). Sanjay Dutt’s hair has changed over the years and Aalim made sure it was replicated perfectly on Ranbir. He used wigs and patches but the Rocky look was Ranbir’s own hair.

Aalim tells us how Ranbir played a major role in getting the looks perfect because he had done his homework well and had lots of inputs. He insisted on growing his hair to get the Rocky look right. The shoot with him donning the long hair was done first and the part with short hair was done later. It took the Sanju team almost three months to get the perfect look. Ranbir would have to sit for hours during look tests and there was a lot of brainstorming involved to make sure Ranbir actually looks like Sanjay Dutt but at the same time doesn’t lose his individuality.

Aalim Hakim also tells us about the time when Sanjay Dutt used to fly to New York just to get a hair cut. He has been styling Sanjay Dutt’s hair since Kaante (2002) and has worked with Ranbir Kapoor since the latter’s debut in Saawariyan (2007).

Editor: Ashish Maccune
Cameraman: Sanjoy Deb