What would be the dream career in Bollywood for Karan Johar's children? To be an actor, director, writer, or maybe a hair and makeup artist? Generally, one would think that he would wish his children to become filmmakers like him, but Karan's answer was quite surprising. The multi-talented producer-director, in a recent interaction, was heard saying that the most secure job in the Hindi film industry at present is that of a hair and makeup artist.
Indeed, hairstylists and makeup artists, i.e., the people who make you look glam, are now the top earners in the industry. Today, top stylists can easily earn around ₹1 lakh a day having advantages such as stays in luxury hotels, first-class flights, and a calendar loaded with celebrity clients. For a single movie, the producers are said to spend as much as ₹8–10 crore just on hair and makeup, which is way more than the total writing team’s remuneration.
The time when the stylists were just anonymous workers of the service industry is over. They have now become brands having a huge number of followers of their own. Talking to Galatta India, Celebrity hairstylist Aalim Hakim, who styles actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Salman Khan, said, “If someone wants Aalim Hakim to cut their hair, ₹1 lakh is the minimum per sitting. Ten sittings? ₹10–15 lakh.”
Correspondingly, makeup artist Shaan Muttathil, was charged with working with Jacqueline Fernandez and Shraddha Kapoor, is said to be priced at ₹1 lakh per day. The work of these artists is not just film sets, the artists are the integral part of every public appearance, brand shoot, and Instagram post a celebrity makes.
We live in an era of high-definition cameras and social media, where one wrong look can get viral for all the wrong reasons. Celebrities can’t take that risk. A stylist’s accuracy, inventiveness, and capability to handle the crisis help the celebs attain the perfect look, be it for the camera, the stage, or the internet. The proficiency of a stylist to shape an actor’s public image has landed them the status of being unreplaceable, and accordingly, their demand has increased tremendously in the last ten years.
Once celebrity stylist Anees Muss said it so aptly, “We were once faceless service providers. Today, we are brands.” Now they are walking the red carpets, signing deals for endorsements, and their social media followers are almost at the level of those of celebrities with moderate popularity.
So Karan Johar's remark isn't just a joke or a play on words. It illustrates how Bollywood's finances have changed over time, the people who make the stars look like stars are the ones who come out on top.
Next time you marvel at a celebrity's on-screen appearance, keep in mind that there is a stylist behind it who is making more money than most directors. And perhaps, Karan Johar might be right, hairstyling might be the most secure and glamorous career in Bollywood at present.
