Bollywood and the history of the Mooch!

Bollywood has traditionally shied away from the mooch. Jog a run down memory lane and very few actors come to mind who patronize the moustache. Though many non-moustachioed actors have once in a while dabbled in sporting one for the sake of an experimental look, there are few moochie fans who believe in the ‘mooch se hi mard ki shaan hai’, in the second largest film industry in the world after Hollywood.

Jackie Shroff represents the quintessential Indian man, who, sporting a neat moochie had gone on to win the Mr. Universe title and marks an era of sophistication and elegance in the Indian man. His moustache was the subject of much concern in the beloved kids movie ‘King Uncle’ where he essays the title role.

Anil Kapoor, good-humouredly named as ‘balakalakaar’ recently on a reality television show, has always been famous for all the hair he hates to shave. His moustache, of course, is as famous as his chest hair and is thankfully, seen more often than the latter. He had shaved it off for a second generation character in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Lamhe’ and in some scenes of a Golmaal imspired character on the lines of Amol Palekar in the movie 'Jhoot bole kauwa kaate'.

Abishek Bachchan has always copied his father since the start of his career. Similar to Amitabh bachchan, he has consistently sported an unshaven look, so much so that on his wedding night even, he decided to save the money he would have had to shell out to the barber.

The old timers too it seems were not too fond of the moosh! The only old school actors donning a moochie that come to mind are Shatrughna Sinha and Raj Kapoor.

Is bollywood prejudiced against moustachioed man? The answer from the statistics definitely seems to be a ‘yes’. While you deliberate upon the soundness of logic and try to dig out statistical fallacies, we leave you with glimpses of some experimental characters trademarked with the ‘mard ki shaan’.