When she jumps on to the ramp wildly strumming a guitar, the audience rises with a roar of applause. You’d almost have mistaken her for a rock star, judging by her popularity on stage, but she is hairstylist Adhuna Akhtar — the one behind the revolutionary hairstyles in many a Hindi film and owner of the b:blunt and b:you chain of salons. Just minutes before her appearance on the ramp at the launch of an international hair care brand’s latest collection in Mumbai, Adhuna (while appearing as a rock chic herself) says she is equally at ease with a feminine look. “My current styling is based on the Folk theme by L’Oreal. I have done it using softer shades of hair colour, a simple, layered cut and smooth texture that my model Preeti Dhata already had. As embellishment, I have used braids but in a rather limited way.”
Adhuna’s interpretation of global hair trends is inspired by American designer Anna Sui’s latest collection. “It is so wonderfully soft. It has got layers and looks ultra-feminine.” Currently, she sees a strong influence of music in hairstyling. “But unlike the popular styles of the 1960s to the 1980s, it is more individualistic today,” she adds.
Even though she is part of a hair trends fashion show, Adhuna says more often it is suitability that gets priority over what’s ‘running’ currently. “Unless my clients absolutely insist on a particular hot-in-fashion style, I advise them on the basis of what will look good on them. I tell them to modernise too but the vital thing is not how much you take off but what you leave on. The best way to judge what a client wants is by making her answer one question: On a scale of one to ten how many heads would you like to turn when you enter a room? It always works!” she explains.
The hairstylist that the Hindi film industry looks to is currently not accepting new work till next year. She has just completed styling for husband Farhan Akhtar’s film “Karthik Calling Karthik” and is now looking forward to expanding her existing chain of premium salons b:blunt and its secondary, more accessible brand b:you, which is a head-to-toe solutions salon.
“We are planning to open a b:blunt in Bengaluru in a few months and then some more in other metros. I want to concentrate on the business now.” And are her best styles reserved for hubby dearest? “He has such a thick crop that there’s always something great that can be worked with it!” she laughs.
