Bollywood hairdresser

A 19-year-old instructs the hairdresser at a men’s salon to give him a ‘cool spiked look’. The boy then asks the hairdresser whether he has watched the Aamir Khan-starrer Dil Chahta Hai. The man nods and starts his job. Twenty minutes later, the college-student leaves happily with a gelled spiky appearance.

Throughout the day, the salon does at least 10 hairstyles for at least a bunch of teenagers. Its catalogue offered an amazing list of ‘hot trendy cuts’ ‘ spikes, mushroom, army, antennas, long, crew and feather cuts to mention a few ‘ reflecting the sudden passion among customers for the funky and hip-hop hairdos. Around 80 per cent of its customers were college and school students.

‘We have to keep changing to styles. If you do not change you are dead. The funky hairstyles became a craze after Aamir Khan appeared in Dil Chahta Hai with a spiked hairdo. Many customers demand the hair style sported by another actor Zayed Khan in the movie, Main Hoon Naa,’ said Mukesh Kumar, owner of New Looks beauty parlour.

Avinash, a teenager who lived in Lalpur, said earlier he used to go around with long cuts but now he had shifted to ‘the spike cut’.

‘The hairstyles are slowly changing since everyone wants to look different and cool. New hairstyles and hair-colouring are slowly catching up with the youngsters. Four years back, hardly any one was bothered about the way they had their hair trimmed or cut,’ he added.

A student of St Xavier’s College, Praveen prefers the ‘veg cut’ since it looks classy and fashionable while Manish Singh, another college-goer, said: ‘I prefer long locks like Tom Cruise had in Mission Impossible. But now I want to change my hairstyle and get a crew cut.’

Rajni Ranjan of Kaya Beauty Salon said front flicks, long cuts and feather looks were popular among young customers.

‘Earlier, there was not much craze for trendy hair styles. Most youngsters seems to have derived inspiration from the haircuts of Bollywood actors,’ she added.

The cost of style-change was Rs 60 and a gelled look was Rs 50.

Tarkeshwar Kumar, a hairdresser at Kaya, said most of his customers demanded ‘the spiked and razor cut’.

‘There has been a tremendous change in taste. Youngsters experiment a lot today. Aamir seems to be their idol,’ Kumar added, his fingers moving at super speed as he adds the last finishes to a mushroom cut.