Meet man, had only Rs 13 in bank, charged Rs 20 per haircut, later became one of India’s most prominent celebrity hairstylist, his clients are...

Aalim Hakim lost his father at the age of nine to cardiac arrest. Hakim Kairanvi was only 39 when he died while working on Amitabh Bachchan’s film, Mard. Even after this tragedy, Aalim worked hard from an early age, learned the techniques and mastered over the art of hairstyling. From earning Rs 20 per hair cut to now having USD 22 million (Rs 1,888,634,000), Aalim has come a long way from owning a balcony size barbarshop to an upscale posh mumbai salon. 

Aalim's early life

Aalim Hakim was born on August 25, 1974, in Mumbai and comes from a ancestory of barbers. However, after Hakim Kairanvi passed away at a young age of 39, he left only Rs 13 in the bank account. Aalim and his family was left on their own. With this, a lot of responsibility came upon Aalim who, along with his family, went through a lot of struggles. In a podcast on Manish Paul's show, Hakim recalled his early days and said, “My dad was a famous hair stylist. He became famous at a very young age. He passed away at 39. At that time, there was only Rs 13 in the bank account.”

From the age of 10, Aalim Hakim was determined to become a famous hairdresser and uphold the family's legacy in the business. He learned the art of hairdressing from his mother. After few years when he turned 16, Aalim turned the balcony of his home into a temporary barber shop. He used to charge very nominal rates, Rs 20 for a haircut, Rs 30 for hair shampooing and cutting, and when he bought an air-conditioner he raised his rates and started charging Rs 50 to Rs 75. 

He studied from Mithibai College in Mumbai. From the 1990s, his client list increased after his friends started coming to him and slowly actors like Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Suniel Shetty, and Ajay Devgn became his clients. He has styled actors from famous projects like Hrithik Roshan’s hair in War, Ranbir Kapoor in Animal and Sanju, Shahid Kapoor in Kabir Singh, Vicky Kaushal in Sam Bahadur, Rajnikanth in Jailer and Prabhas’ look in Baahubali. He has transformed hair styles of many popular South actors to dashing and memorable looks. These are Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and others. Not just actors, Aalim has styled cricketers like legend Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh.

Aalim's net worth

In an interview with Brut India, he said, “I used to go back to my home and work; my workplace was at my home, which was in the balcony of my house, and there was only one small fan. So, I collected a little bit of money and bought a second-hand air conditioner, and at that time, the second-hand air conditioner was also for Rs 30,000, so my monthly instalment was Rs 2,000 or Rs 3,000 for the AC. Once I finished that EMIs, I felt like I am a rich guy, I have got a salon, which is air conditioned barbershop. I felt very proud in the 1990s.”

According to Aalim Hakim, his charges start from Rs 1 lakh, without taxes. Aalim’s net worth is around 22 million dollars.