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New Delhi: From a humble barbershop in Bhusawal to the bustling film sets of Bollywood, Darshan Yewalekar’s journey as a hairstylist is nothing short of inspiring. Known for designing iconic looks for stars like Ranveer Singh, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar, Darshan has become one of the most sought-after names in the hair and grooming industry. His work in films such as Padmaavat, 83and Bajio Mastani has not only brought characters to life on screen but has also redefined how hairstyling contributes to storytelling in cinema.

While in conversation with News9live, Darshan Yewalekar shared his journey on how he has contributed greatly to some of the most iconic hairstyles of Bollywood, and how it made an impact and brought change to the look and role of the character.

Darshan Yewalekar’s journey of iconic hairstyles

Even before I joined the industry, I always paid attention to how male protagonists wore their hair in films. Be it Johnny Depp’s beaded tresses in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, Al Pacino’s no-nonsense, slick hair in the ‘Godfather’, the uncharacteristic bob Javier Bardem sported in ‘No Country for Old Men’ or Ben Kingsley’s monastic appearance in ‘Gandhi’- these looks stayed with me for a long time. In Indian cinema, one of the most memorable characters was that of Prince Salim in director K Asif’s ‘Mughal-E-Azam.’

A special wig was reportedly crafted for Dilip Kumar in London, and he looked completely different from his usual self. Dilip sahab also changed his look once again in ‘Gunga Jumna’ where he played an innocent villager turned dacoit. But the craft of hair design was relatively unexplored in that era and even subsequently. Male stars were associated with distinct hairstyles rather than with how different their characters looked in every film.

Speaking from my own experience as a hair designer Darshan shared, “I have seen a huge shift in the way characters have taken over star personas in cinema over the last two decades I have worked with Ranveer Singh for over 10 years and we have worked hard to delineate characters as different as the reckless lover in ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela’ to the regal Peshwa in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ for which he shaved his head to the villainous Khilji with untamed hair in ‘Padmaavat’. For Khilji, Ranveer grew his hair, and we also used extensions.”

For each of these films, we took a lot of time to study the socio-cultural and historical backgrounds of the characters. Even for ’83’, a lot of work went into the curls that Ranveer sported because we wanted to do justice to Kapil Dev’s iconic persona. We even worked to get the number of hairs in his moustache right!

How have hairstyles in Bollywood transformed over the years

The point being that for actors today, hair design has become one of the key elements to bring a character to life. It is not enough to just look good before the camera. They want to ensure that they are playing a part convincingly. For instance, during the shoot of ‘Laal Kaptaan’, I wasn’t happy till the last minute with the look we had created for Saif Ali Khan, who was playing a Naga Sadhu. I asked for some more time, and Saif very graciously gave me the space to get the finer details right.

Actors have now started paying attention to hair, wardrobe, and makeup in a way which is unprecedented. Earlier, even when I asked, there wasn’t any broad conversation about the background of a character, and it was more about making a star look like a quintessential hero. But today’s cinema has evolved, and actors prepare in a rather immersive way, especially if they are working in historical films or biopics.

While designing hair for period dramas like ‘Sky Force’ and ‘Kesari Chapter-2’, I worked with the directors closely to understand their vision and the character arcs of the lead stars and the ensemble cast. I also did deep research into fashion mores and cultural nuances of the era the films were set.

This process may get time-consuming, but it is worth it. Preparation starts weeks before the shoot, and we do multiple look tests, sometimes using wigs or hairpieces. For instance, for the character of General Dyer in ‘Kesari Chapter-2’, we had to create a special wig to ensure the resemblance was perfect. Once we lock a look, maintaining it every single day on set also requires constant monitoring.

Even in contemporary entertainers like ‘Jewel Thief -The Heist Begins’, my team and I worked in tandem with Jaideep and Saif sir to create two very distinct looks that went with their characters.

Today, we have come a long way from just glamorising lead stars and are exploring new dimensions in storytelling. Hair design, I am happy to share, is playing an important part in this transition.