GT talks to banker-turned-beautician
What is your favourite kind of makeup, party or bridal?
Frankly, I would prefer to do fashion shoots. I like very creative makeup, I don’t like to do very generic makeup. Brides are so tense and stressed out when they come to me. I just want to make them feel beautiful inside out. My concentration is always on making them feel at ease. With each step I try to relax them, ask them if they think the makeup is alright. I don’t impose my choices on the brides, but I do my research, so I can strike a balance between what the bride wants and something that is simultaneously creative. And I never compromise on products: I only use the best, regardless of whether it’s party makeup or bridal or daytime.
If you had a chance to do any one persons’ makeup from anytime and anywhere, who would it be and why?
I am planning something with the brides of the Edhi Centre where I go in, take my girls and do the makeup and the hair using my best products. That’s something that I feel really good about doing it. Just to make them feel special and giddy.
Aamina Sheikh is someone whose makeup I would love to do. She has a very strong makeup face and beautiful features.
“Aamina Sheikh is someone whose makeup I would
love to do”
What do clients take back with them after leaving your salon?
Every customer leaves here satisfied, that is the best thing. Especially people with short hair who cannot imagine having any kind of hairdo other than the basic blow-dry, I have done some spectacular hairdos for them!
You made the switch from banker to beautician. How and why did you decide to do so?
I had been working for HSBC in Pakistan for 25 years. My entire life had been spent servicing the consumer market, selling products of the bank. This has helped me a lot with making people comfortable coming to me and for me to understand what it is that they are looking for. When HSBC was getting ready to pack up from Pakistan, I was looking for jobs. Sherezad Rahimtoola was instrumental in guiding me. She runs an institute called Pivot Point, and I enrolled there, took the training for makeup, hair designing and hair sculpture. She very strongly recommended I do something — that I have an entrepreneurial spirit and this is what motivated me to take the initiative. I’m also getting trained at L’Oreal which is super!
Are there any upcoming products that you strongly recommend?
All women who get regular styling done, their hair part starts to widen, so we use Serioxyl which activates our dormant hair follicles to regrow the hair and tighten the part. I also offer Botox facials which regenerate your skin and fill in your lines. No injections, just facials. We massage the Botox in with collagen and each facial will gradually and surely reduce your wrinkles: hey, I’m doing them myself!
“I yearn to change the way people, especially women, feel about themselves”
What’s your makeup regime?
I wear different makeup everyday. I wear my hair differently everyday for my clients, I’m very conscious of that. I was always a trendsetter, even at the bank. If I had a certain hairstyle, everyone would follow and start emulating me!
What‘s your take on the fashion industry and styling in Pakistan?
Styling and fashion has done really well. You must have heard of the oft-repeated line that despite all the violence, the fashion shows never stop. In the world of makeup and styling, until very recently, there was very little awareness. I yearn to change the way people, especially women, feel about themselves. I want to change their confidence levels, their attitude and their skin and hair care regimes. And I always tell women who try to look good for any other reason but themselves that it’s not just for your husbands, it’s for yourself — for you to feel and look good for yourself is enough. Luckily, in Pakistan, everybody in this fraternity — be it makeup, fashion, styling, skin care, hair care — compliments the other. There is competition and therefore rapid creativity. It’s been fun to see it grow from the 80s and 90s — when makeup was like a small family dominated by two or three big names like Tariq Amin and Ather Shahzad — to a highly slick, competitive market now.
Photography | Arsalan Bilgrami
The Golden Boy of Pakistani TV
By Saba Ahmed
It’s just so easy to talk to Ahsan Khan. He has an ease about him that makes everything seem alright: our first conversation feels like I’ve been reunited with an old friend. This is his charm — his positivity, his ability and his kindness — a bit of which resides in every TV-viewing Pakistani household
Congrats on your win at the HUM awards this year for Mausam! How does it feel to have won? Do you feel that the networks have favorites?
There are loads of actors around me who move in a network of people they happen to be working with. There are always lobbies and everyone has their favorites. But I’ve been working with everyone and everywhere. I try to choose projects where I’m working with people who are great at what they do, but beyond that, I have not fixed myself to a certain production house; I don’t feel good doing that. I want variety in my life, not only for my characters but also for the team that I work with. At PTV last year I did Heer Ranjha which was a very desi play. I immensely enjoy working with HUM TV. They are the network that has most adequately showcased my skills and acting ability. They have always given me very different types of characters like in Daastan, Paani Jaisa Pyaar and some others. I guess it’s natural to end up having favorites!
Do you think awards help an actor’s career?
If any actor says that awards don’t help, they’re being not-so-honest because everyone in the industry wants acknowledgment of some kind. There’s hardly a plethora of awards — there’s HUM, LUX and PTV. Of these three awards, if an actor wins any one, it feels good. This year, I also won a LUX award but that was for a producer award. I had produced for the first time so you can only imagine my surprise. In fact, it’s convinced me to take on more production work. So at the end of the day, everyone can use the acknowledgment.
“When I began my career, I had trouble saying two lines in front of the cameraâ€
There are much fewer comedies on Pakistani television now and the quality has also weakened for the comedies that are there. Why do you think this is?
I agree. Sadly, it’s not the audiences, it’s the channels. They no longer consider comedy a serious business. That is why, nowadays, comedy shows are mainly limited to some rubbish sitcoms which are aired at 7 pm. They’re just filling the slots, these shows, they’re not considered a great thing to watch or to be featured next to. I did Taakay Ki Aayegi Baraat on Geo and I still feel that that kind of script, the kind of class displayed by the actors involved and the way the channel showed it, it turned out great. Sitcom producers get paid less and are hence less motivated to do good work. The serious drama usually gets higher ratings than a comedy. It’s the unfortunate truth. When something becomes a hit, people relentlessly follow the same formula for success.
You have the most extensive Lollywood and television screen experience of any Pakistani actor your age. For each, tell us about how you feel they have progressed and what is still standing in the way of progress for them?
The old Lollywood is almost gone and, now, since the past two years, we’ve had a revival of a new kind of cinema. When you look back at Lollywood, the people were hardworking, they were great technicians, and great actors too. But still they were not exposed, creatively, in the way filmmakers now are. Most of those in Lollywood were coming straight from their villages and making films for themselves. I’ve always called it a regional film industry — people making films for their specific regional villages mainly. In the middle there, Lollywood had zero international presence. Choorian, for example, was a big hit, but at the end of the day, it was mainly targeted towards and watched by a small, specific, regional audience. That era is gone. Now we have an extremely educated, professional class of people making films with an international sheen, certainly in terms of production values.
One impediment here is that audiences are nitpicky and critical. When the industry is new and raw, there is a learning curve and audiences should ideally allow for that in terms of their reception and criticism of new works. When I began my career, I had trouble saying two lines in front of the camera! But with the passage of time, I’ve seen a huge change in my career, in my skills. and in my acting ability and it’s similar for the industry.
For the drama industry, one thing that scares me is that many good directors and actors want to concentrate only on films. The result will be that the quality of our dramas could drop. We should not forget that we are known for our dramas. For all the actors who have become big stars: I’m not popular today because of Lollywood but because of the drama industry. If Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar are stars today, it’s because of the drama industry. We owe something to it and cannot neglect it.
“When something becomes a hit, people relentlessly follow the same formula for successâ€
Since the heyday of Dhoop Kinare and Tanhaayan, do you think scripts have gotten weaker or stronger?
I don’t think that scripts have gotten weaker, I always say this. The difference now is that you now have twenty different channels instead of one and to fill them all, you need lots of dramas. So like any other field and in other part of the world, there is A, B and C category work. In the Pakistani drama industry, there are also all types of people. We have great writers like Umera Ahmad, Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar, Zafar Mairaj, Faiza Iftikhar, Zanjabeel Asim Shah and Noor-ul-Huda Shah. There are many more. They write so well and if alongside them, you choose a good director and a good cast, the drama can become excellent. Our dramas which have become international hits and our TV actors have now become mega stars just by virtue of these spectacular dramas. I am very happy with this industry and I will not say that good work is not being done.
How is your ideal day off spent?
I have three kids, Mashallah. That’s my ideal day off, I just laze around, and I literally lay like a log and let my kids climb all over me. That’s the best and most blessed feeling. I work hard and travel so much that I hardly feel like being on the move again so I just enjoy talking with them, coloring, watching a movie, maybe going out for a small drive, for ice cream.
As a Lahori, personally and professionally, what are the pros and cons of living in Karachi?
This question sounds so odd to me because it instantly brings up that Lahori Karachi rivalry! I have never in my career or in my life felt this difference and have never even felt that people from either city treat me differently. I love both cities and I also love living in Karachi. My friends from Karachi can’t believe that after having lived in Lahore I can actually enjoy living in Karachi. I’m generally a very flexible guy and always live for the present.
Career wise, I have grown in Karachi as an actor more, obviously because all the work is being done here. Noman Ijaz, Fawad Khan, Me, Mikaal, Saba Qamar, Ayesha Khan and many others have all come from Lahore.
“If Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Saba Qamar are stars today, it’s because of the drama industryâ€
Who’s one director whom you’d love to work with?
Vishal Bhardwaj is someone whose work I have always admired. Haider, Omkara and Maqbool are incredible works of art. Having acted in Shakespearean plays during my childhood and then in school, Shakespeare has also been one of my favorite writers.
I’m a big fan of Irani cinema and one director whose work I really admire is Majid Majidi. Another is Asghar Farhadi who won me over with A Separation. I always encourage Pakistani audiences to explore Irani cinema as it features phenomena closer to home while still maintaining a subtler style of expression than our own.
What is your greatest weakness?
Good food! I’m a real foodie and I love living in Karachi and visiting Lahore so that I get the best of both worlds!
What is your greatest extravagance?
Clothes, shoes and shopping! I know, it’s a “woman’s” response to the question, but when I represent our industry, I always like to put my best foot forward. I also love gadgets: the latest speakers, phones, you name it.
Favorite Pakistani actress?
Barbara Sharif, she’s still so very cute! I love her for how much poise and dignity she spent the last years of her career. She’s terrifically multi-talented, she always did great comedy. And did I mention that she’s still gorgeous?!
Pakistani actor you most admire?
Noman Ijaz and Shaan. Enough said!
Photography | AB Lakhani
By Jalal Salahuddin
After working in Pakistan for 12 years and being part of the group of event managers that started the industry at home, I often wondered if it was simply enough to want to grow J&S locally, or to take a bigger and bolder step and look for other options abroad alongside Pakistan.
The opportunity happened by chance when we left for India to organize the Lifestyle Pakistan tradeshow some years ago. The show was a resounding success with all of Pakistan’s top business houses coming back after having done millions in sales in textiles, furniture and other Pakistani made goods. My partner in J&S Omar Satti and I began to think: if we can export music and other talent across the border, then why not services? The similarity in culture, language and style between the two countries has always existed; and the idiom of the “desi wedding” is deeply ingrained in both places.
How would we do it? Who would we partner with? To do bespoke and high end events in India required careful planning and thought. India is a huge market with a multi-billion dollar event management industry. One has to be the best of the best to get to do the top work for the country’s burgeoning bevy of billionaires, celebrities and socialites. Everyone wants new and exciting ideas for location, décor and entertainment. It reminds me of the United States at the turn of the 19th century when the Vanderbilts, the Astors and the Mellons were building French-inspired chateaus by the sea in Newport and holding elaborate masquerade balls in their New York and Boston brownstones. Modern Indian society itself has created the behemoth known as The Big Fat Indian Wedding. Pakistan has also been seduced by the idea of the grand desi wedding and we at J&S have designed and executed some of the country’s most well-attended and glamorous affairs.
Omar Satti, Umad, Amitabh Bachchan & Adeel Chaudhry with guests
The guest-list read like the who’s who of India’s business, entertainment, political and
intellectual elite
The logical thing for us to do would be to find a partner who liked our work and who had the brand name, reputation and an aesthetic, which was stylish, tasteful, and genuinely creative. Both of us agreed that no one would be better than Rohit Bal.
Rohit grew up in Srinagar, studied in Delhi, worked and traveled internationally and has a personality and style that is firmly grounded in the history and traditions of the subcontinent, yet connected to the modern world. Known as the Yves Saint Laurent of India, Rohit is intensely concerned with design as an art form. The designer has drawn on history, fantasy and folklore to create masterpieces of couture that are desired by discerning aficionados around the globe. He has always had a deep understanding of the psyche of the fashion world and it reflects in his collections that are intelligent, studied, imaginative and completely innovative. But they are also always relevant and awe-inspiring.He is recognized in India and internationally for meticulous attention to detail. He draws inspiration from influences wide and varied. From the village crafts and traditional methods of design that India is so rich in, to the transient phenomenon of the subcontinent’s urban landscape, the designer has brought them all to life in his spectacular but original language.His creative spirit has touched everything in the past few decades from fashion to interiors.Now he would bring his inimitable style and panache to designer weddings and events.
More than that, he is a genuinely wonderful person and a dream to work with. We began by having a glamorous launch event at the ITC Maurya to introduce Rohit Bal Luxury Wedding & Events by J&S. We thought: we would excel at creating the most glamorous and exciting wedding and decor concepts for a discerning clientele both in India as well as globally. Both Rohit and I became Co-Creative Directors.
Ritu Kumar & Shashi Kumar
Rahul Bose
The idiom of the “desi wedding†is deeply ingrained in both India and Pakistan
Work has followed and we have done incredible events for some of India’s top industrialists and A-listers. But that is news for another article. Recently, we were approached by Ajitabh Bachchan, (Amitabh Bachchan’s brother),to do his daughter Nayna Bachchan’s wedding reception. Nayna had married the Bollywood actor Kunal Kapoor at a quiet ceremony in the Seychelles two months ago. Now her parents and family were hosting a grand wedding reception in Delhi for them. “This is Bollywood’s first family,” Rohit said to me, “and we have to do a phenomenal job.”
We began by finding inspiration from all things desi: tube roses, motia, desi ghulab, vermillion amaryllis. The event was taking place at a stunning farmhouse with a winding garden where we placed beautiful handmade wrought iron gates strung with floral tassels alongside a 300 foot long candle wall that shimmered as guests walked into the venue. The Mangniyar Seduction, a 25 member troupe from Rajasthan, sang Sufi songs welcoming guests as Amitabh Bachchan, son Abhishek and wife Aishwarya, Ramola and Ajitabh Bachchan and the rest of the Bachchan family stood by a falling flower stage to welcome the 1500 guests.
Rohit and I went to source carved marble fountains, solid silver doors, venetian mirrors, Mughal fans and Tanjore paintings from the 1800s from antique dealers to decorate the ivory colored muslin-draped main hall. 15,000 candles and dozens of baskets of roses decorated the walkways and tables. All the dining tables were dressed with crinkled and quilted tablecloths and napkins especially made at Rohit couture atelier, carved gold chargers and candelabras and huge bunches of blooming amaryllis. Even I gasped when we saw the elegant and scintillating result as we finished decorating the event.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan & Ramola Bachchan
“This is Bollywood’s first family,†Rohit said to me, “And we have to do a phenomenal jobâ€
The guest-list read like the who’s who of India’s business, entertainment, political and intellectual elite. Priyanka Gandhi and her husband Robert Vadhra exchanged pleasantries with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan, while Anupam Kher and his wife Kiran Kher took a selfie with Nayna and Kunal Kapoor. Rohit Bal, Abhishek and I chatted away as the crowd went crazy when Hrithik Roshan began dancing on the sofa. Meanwhile, everyone admired Dior ambassador Kalyani Chawla’s stunning outfit. Novelist Shoba De looked striking in a canary yellow sari and stood by Dubai-based billionaire Sunil Vasvani who had flown in on his private jet for the evening. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looked glamorous in a bright red outfit while her sister-in-law Shweta looked elegant in a pale gold couture lehnga.
A Latin American band played during the champagne reception and were followed by the inimitable Meet Brothers who sang their famous hits Chitiyan Kalayaan and Baby Doll. The crowd cheered on the dancefloor as Abhishek sang with them to celebrate his cousin’s nuptials. Our very own Adeel Chaudhry also performed desi songs for the guests. The evening was an enormous success and it’s true:there is no business like show business. We hope to do many more evenings like it.
