Bollywood actors chuck clean-shaven look for rugged beards

Traditionally, Bollywood heroes have either sported clean-shaven looks or elegant moustaches. But now, look closely and you will find that the grungy bearded look is in vogue among Bollywood’s leading men.

Traditionally, Bollywood heroes have either sported clean-shaven looks (remember Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan?) or elegant moustaches (think Raj Kapoor, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff). But now, look closely and you will find that the grungy bearded look is in vogue among Bollywood’s leading men.

Creating a fuzz

To start with, Akshay Kumar will be seen sporting long hair and a rugged beard in his next project, Gabbar. "Akshay’s look will be different from what we have seen till date. He has just come back from a vacation with his wife Twinkle but that didn’t stop him from growing his beard and hair. By the time, the film goes on the floors in a couple of months, he will acquire the complete look," says an insider close to the actor. This year has already seen a number of stars wearing facial hair in their successful ventures. While Saif Ali Khan flaunted it in Race 2 and Bullett Raja, Shahid Kapoor also did the same in his latest hit, R…Rajkumar. Earlier in the year, south star Dhanush also had a brush in his debut Hindi project, Raanjhanaa. Besides, Aditya Roy Kapur and Ranbir Kapoor also sported beards for their roles in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.

Close shave

Possibly, the most popular beard was Ranveer Singh’s in Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela, which became a big talking point. In an interview, the actor went on record to say that he personally loves the bearded look more than his clean-shaven one. "If it were left to me and I wasn’t playing characters I would have a full beard and long hair. Koi ek saal ki mujhe chhoot de de toh (if I’m given a year’s break then) I would end up with a beard and long hair," said Ranveer, who has just shaved his face for his next film, Kill Dill.

Besides Akshay, next year, Shah Rukh Khan will also be seen flaunting facial hair in parts of Farah Khan’s Happy New Year. A few days ago, he shaved off his beard and posted a picture of his clean-shaven self on his Twitter page, with this accompanying text: "A man and his beard are soon parted. Hair today gone tomorrow. Kiss mode activated...no beard burns for the kids (sic)."