Hollywood hairstylist wants to groom Ash, SRK

NEW DELHI - He has styled the tresses of Hollywood divas like Heather Graham, Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone but Los Angeles-based celebrity hair expert Jamal Hammadi is in awe of Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan. And he would love to style them too.

“I’d love to work with Aishwarya Rai. I haven’t yet. She’s got long, gorgeous hair and my god, those blue eyes. I’d definitely love to work with her. She is a beautiful lady and it’ll be fun and something different,” Hammadi told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai, while on his third trip to India.

“I think Aishwaya Rai is gorgeous…Then, you have Priyanka (Chopra), who is awesome. I worked with her about a month ago. We did a Sunsilk Stunning Black Shine (Shampoo) commercial. She is so cool and fun and open. She is pretty talented as well and I like her attitude,” said the global shine expert, who is the co-creator of the shampoo.

What about Priyanka’s hair?

“Priyanka has good hair,” said Hammadi, who was in India just for a day but is looking forward to heading “north to the Himalayas for a whole spiritual thing” on his next visit.

Isn’t he aware about any Bollywood hero?

“Yes. There is Shah Rukh Khan. He is everywhere. He is huge. He is really big. I see him everywhere. And he is funny too. He has a great personality and sense of humour. I have seen his interviews. He seems cool…,” said Hammadi.

So, would he like to work on Shah Rukh’s hair?

“Sure. Absolutely! Why not,” exclaimed the hairstylist, who grew up with Eastern influences, does yoga and loves gorging on Indian food, especially “tandoori chicken and naan”.

Born in Paris, Jamal began styling in the early 1990s and is now well-known for creating glamorous looks for Hollywood celebrities and countless supermodels on the New York and Paris runways.

Known for his natural approach to achieving healthy hair shine, his clientele includes the likes of Linda Evangelista, Eva Mendes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Kirsten Dunst, Naomi Watts and Maya Rudoph. Evangelista is one of his most dedicated clients so much so that she flew him over to London to style her hair for a Vogue cover shoot.

So who possesses the best hair in Hollywood?

“Heather Graham has amazing hair. She has got gorgeous, thick, wavy and beautiful hair. You can do anything with that,” said Hammadi, whose last job was with Barrymore.

Despite his skill, Hammadi conceded that even he faces tough times.

“It’s most challenging when I’m working in Paris in the shows. It’s beyond hairstyles. At that point you are creating sculptures and things like that. That’s the most challenging and the most rewarding for me,” he said.

“I have been doing this now for 15 years and I am confident enough with all kinds of textures, but it’s more about when you start creating these crazy, eccentric looks. You are more theatrical and it pushes you to the next level. Fashion shows really help you get that expertise,” he added.

He also has his own line, Hamadi (eds: correct) Beauty, that embodies products combining 100 percent essential oils and plant extracts. So has he thought of setting up shop in India?

“No. Not yet. There was a company that had contacted us. So we are working on that and hopefully in the future we’ll be there,” Hammadi said.

His future projects include “fashion shows and more of ads right now. And I might be working with James Franco next and probably Drew (again)”.

(Robin Bansal can be contacted at robin.b@ians.in)