I'm a free spirit: Adhuna Akhtar

Adhuna Akhtar Cofounder and Creative director BBluntThink boho chic and one of the names that strikes you is celebrity hair stylist Adhuna Akhtar The mother of two who is known as much as for her individualistic fashion sense as for her quirky hairstyles lives up to the term when I meet her at the Kemps Corner outlet of her chain of salons mdash BBlunt mdash one afternoon Dressed in a limegreen shirt teamed with turquoise pants a saddlebag around her shoulders and hairpins tucked in casually to keep her tresses in place the 47yearold can easily pass of as someone in her early 30s As we settle down for a chat in her salon she tells me that staying in the United Kingdom for the first 25 years of her life honed her fashion sense ldquoWhile working in the UK I was exposed to diverse kinds of styles I would describe my style as street stylerdquo she saysAdhuna Akhtar cofounder of BBlunt at the Kemps Corner outlet PicSameer Markande Romancing the tressesBorn to a Bengali father Dr Asheem Bhabani and a Brit mother Anne Akhtar and her younger brother Osh werenrsquot exposed to Bengali culture per se Losing her father when she was just 12 made things tough for her and brought her closer to her mother who raised both the kids singlehandedly ldquoMy father was a non conformist He was not fond of India and had moved out of the country for the same reasonrdquo she says wistfullyAt the launch of her product range B System PicShadab KhanBut Akhtarrsquos face lights up when she talks about her mother a career counsellor ldquoShe was the key person in my life who allowed me to be myself She inspired me to pursue my dreamsrdquo says the cofounder and creative director of BBlunt Incidentally it was her mom who introduced her to the magical world of hairstyling Young Adhuna often accompanied her mother to a salon The adeptness with which stylists would cut tresses coupled with the transformation that people underwent intrigued the 14yearold She started working at the salon on weekends and on holidays ldquoI found hairdressing therapeutic What fascinated me was how a person showed enough trust in me to let me into hisher personal space and make himher look stylishrdquo says the entrepreneurShe quit Rainford High School and pursued an apprenticeship at Worthington Salon in NorthWest England at the age of 16 ldquoI started off by making a lot of coffee and tea for the staff and patrons and of course by shampooing the latterrsquos hair Tony Connell was my mentor He was a largerthanlife character who had great command over his art He would get huge tips from women He was always open to sharing his knowledge and I learnt a lot from himrdquo she says At the age of 17 Akhtar won the under21 national junior hairstyling championship in EnglandAfter a threeyear apprenticeship with Worthington followed by a twoyear stint Adhuna joined Tony Connell for two years when he set up his own establishment The artiste realised it was time she broadened her knowledge about the technical aspects of the business She joined Wella as a technical specialist for North West England This field job which called for networking and meeting other stylists to tell them about the products was in stark contrast to her earlier job She says ldquoI had a big white car with a bagful of products and would travel from Carlyle to Liverpool and Ireland on my own My biggest lessons during this tenure were discipline dedication professionalism and punctuality I got to meet other hairdressers who introduced me to newer aspects of the fieldrdquo Later Akhtar worked in the flagship academy of Wella in London for three years and followed it up with stints at ToniampGuy and Vidal SassoonJourney back homeAfter proving her mettle abroad Akhtar began working as a guest stylist at the Oberoi Hotel Mumbai in 1994 She met production designer Sussane Merwanji who was also from North England The duo connected immediately and Sussane helped her with contacts including that of photographer Rafique Sayyed ldquoRafique gave me an opportunity to work on magazine covers and freelance jobs that would help me pay my rentrdquo she explains In 1996 she joined LrsquoOreal Professionel and launched their technical division Akhtar realised it was time she had her own set up In 1998 she along with her brother set up Juice at Worli ldquoOsh was very keen on doing business and cashed in on my talent Our goal was to create an army of proficient hairdressers We roped in our friends to paint the wall and cut hair for free Then Avan Contractor joined usrdquo she says How they met is an interesting story Akhtar recollects ldquoAt a party she was the only girl with short hair We started talking and she told me that shersquos a hairstylist I told her about our salon and she came onboardrdquoAround the same time in 2001 Akhtar and Avan shot into the limelight after they did the styling for Farhan Akhtarrsquos directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai Akhtar says ldquoAvan was responsible for the looks of the three lead actors mdash Aamir Khan Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna Avan has great command over menrsquos hair Farhan wanted the movie to look very fresh and every actor to have an individualistic style That was the first time we got credits in the film That movie showed everyone how hairstyling is a crucial element to build a movie characterrdquo Akhtar has styled for films such as Lakshya Lagaan Rang De Basanti Don Rock On and Bhaag Milkha BhaagIn the interim period Osh Avan and Akhtar set up BBlunt in 2004 ldquoThe name comes from Bhabani my maiden surname as well as the fact that we were very honest with our clients We show them visual references before doing their hair We charge one price for everything right from shampooing your hair to using the products Initially we would use a tub of Vaseline to style curly hair Over a period of time products became easily available in the market with an influx of big companiesrdquo she says Over the last decade they have set up three academies across the country mdash Mumbai Delhi and Bangalore and a chain of salons Three years ago BBlunt donned a more corporate avatar Seven directors came on board and they decided to create their own range of products B System which was launched in August this year The creative director says ldquoWe took into account what were the common problem that Indians faced when it came to their hair and the climatic conditions The products were tested for 18 months till we decided on the right formulardquoManaging home and hearthDespite leading a frenetic professional life Akhtar ensures that she spends quality time with her daughters Shakya and Akira and husband Farhan She says ldquoIrsquom an extremely handson mom I send my daughters to school every day and Irsquom around when they come back I love reading with Shakya who is 14 She is a voracious reader and loves listening to music Akira is seven and very energetic Both my daughters however have their fatherrsquos witty sense of humourrdquo Akhtar confesses that it has taken her many years to master how to manage home and hearth ldquoI switch off the phone when Irsquom at home Farhan and I ensure that one of us is always around the kidsrdquo she says admitting her love for painting and horse riding ldquoI learnt horse riding at the age of four Some day I would like to represent India in horse riding at the Olympics I love to lead life on my own terms Irsquom a free spiritrdquo she signs off flashing a millionwatt smile