Red alert: Divas are in love with this hot shade
Want to rock gorgeous looking locks? Dip them in red! This is what fashion forward women in Bollywood have done this season. Actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Adah Sharma and Smilie Suri are in love with the red hair trend. Aishwarya, who plays a famous singer in her latest film Fanney Khan, is showing off her new hair colour that’s a cheery mix of red and burgundy. Taapsee Pannu, in her upcoming film Manmarziyaan, rocks a curly mop livened with red, while Adah Sharma has gone for flame chunks to spice up her black hair.
Hair stylists give red hair a big thumbs up. “Whatever Bollywood does, fans follow. Red hair is back in fashion again. It’s sexier, romantic, and goes well with the Indian skin tone. Red gives a very rockstar vibe. Earlier, red highlights were popular, but now it’s the ombré technique (darker, natural hues at the roots with lightened ends) and balayage technique (derived from the French word, which means “to sweep”; a natural transition to the lighter shade),” hairstylist Aalim Hakim says.
For Taapsee, red hair goes well with her character in the film. “Rumi’s personality is full of fire, so a fiery red shade complements her style. I love experimenting with my hair and I enjoyed colouring it red. When Anurag Kashyap said, ‘Let’s colour your hair red’, I said, ‘Yes, why not?’ After I came back from the shoot, everyone who saw me said, ‘It’s so you and suits you very well. Can you please keep it forever?’,” the actor says.
Smilie has also experimented with bubble gum pink and bright red. She says that cheerful hair colour brings down the need for make-up. “Crazy colours brighten my skin [colour] and add a glow,” she says.
Hair expert Bhupindra Rawat says a number of young people are going for red. “It’s a hit with youngsters, who go for a red chunk instead of the full scalp. A girl came to me with Aishwarya Rai’s photo from Fanney Khan and asked for the same shade.”
Sagar Khatri, a salon owner in Bengali Market, says he is getting a lot of inquiries for red. “The shade has never been so in. A number of customers are queuing up for red.”
For Ruth Chawngthu, a Delhi-based 21-year-old working professional, red hair is a way of enjoying freedom and expressing it. “I like vibrant hair colours. Everyone has been complimenting my hair. American singer Hayley Williams, who is famous for her red hair, really inspired me to get this shade. It’s my way of expressing freedom.”
Gurugram-based chef, Shahla Ahmed, too, has fallen in love with the shade. She adds, “I wanted a great looking, fresh and striking hair colour. I am seeing actors rock red hair in movies and thought of trying it,” she says.