Facial hair in the form of moustaches has definitely not been the norm for our Bollywood heroes. Unlike our Southern film industry, where moustaches are often seen as being a sign of virility or being a macho man and hardly an actor worth his salt is seen without sprouting facial on his upper lip.
Big B without his Mooch
Big B with Mooch
But, interestingly this trend is changing and our Bollywood heroes are cottoning up to the idea of wearing some facial hair on their handsome faces, while the younger lot of Southern heroes is going for the clean shaven look!
Salman Khan
Sallu Bhai with Moustache
Moustaches have always been used by our Bollywood actors since the beginning, but not as a fashion accessory. In films, this particular style of facial hair has been used variously to distinguish the twin brother when the hero plays a double role; it has been used as a lame disguise for our leading man when he is hiding his true self from others, but is an improbable perfect smoke screen for the villain, girlfriend, friend or even parents! It has also been used as prop to look more mature, responsible or sometimes even disreputable!
Jeevan, the Moustachioed Villain
Moustaches have been a preferred fashion statement for our Bollywood villains and all of us can remember the galaxy of moustache twirling dastards who have twirled their moustaches with glee right before doing the dastardly deed to the hero’s helpless sister.
Shatrughan Sinha: The Shotgun Man
The styling of the moustaches also didn’t seem to matter much to the hero in the movies earlier. There have been very few moustachioed heroes in Bollywood who have made it big. Yes, of course there have been a couple of heroes like Anil Kapoor, Amol Palekar and Shatrughan Sinha who have made it big , but still largely the rule of the well-shaven hero has reigned.
Anil Kapoor
Almost all our Bollywood heroes have adopted the scruffy, un-shaven look for their films, photo-ops or in real life; sometimes to hide a weak chin, as a fashion statement, to give themselves a rough and tough look; but, a neat moustache has been kept exclusively for a particular movie.
Ranbir Kapoor
Ranbir in “Barfi”
In recent times, most of our A-list stars are going in or have already gone in for a moustachioed look in their movies and it’s being considered cool enough to do so . When you see fashion icons and setters like Aamir Khan happily sporting an upper lip facial hair for his latest movie Talaash, you know mustaches are going to be the next big thing!
Aamir Khan
Aamir in ‘Talaash”
Our other Bollywood stars who have sported moustaches in recent times include the following:
SRK with Moustache
Akshay Kumar
Khiladi Kumar with his Moochey
Ajay Devgn
Ajay Devgn with Upper Lip Growth
