<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><img src="/photo/941261.cms" alt="/photo/941261.cms" border="0" /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="100.9%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" e6e6e6=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Much mustached and loving it:</span> Aamir Khan returns to the Raj with Ketan Mehta’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Rising</span></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br />What is the one thing that Aamir Khan and former PM VP Singh have, that Veerappan and Albert Einstein had and that James Bond has never had? <br /><br />It is not vodka martinis, women or even sandalwood.
It is something that was a must-have for the ancient Greeks and was looked down upon by the ancient Romans. <br /><br />One of Amitabh Bachchan''s most famous movie statements is about it and even the Guinness Book of World Records has a category on it. <br /><br />The carry on with ''it'', Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin had it in common, Asterix and Obelix also had it, Agatha Christie''s Hercule Poirot’s style statement was nothing without it, Kapil Dev got us our only World Cup with it and even Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had it. <br /><br />For those who have not figured ''it'' out yet, we are talking about the moustache. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Next Page: </span><a href="/articleshow/msid-941244,curpg-2.cms" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Moochain ho to...</a><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><img src="/photo/941271.cms" alt="/photo/941271.cms" border="0" /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="100.9%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" e6e6e6=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Life is a funny business:</span> Charlie Chaplin’s moustache became the symbol of the funny man.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Moochain ho to</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">...</span><br /><br />From mythology, to history, to the sports field and cinema, where there''s been a man, there''s been a moustache. <br /><br />KL Sehgal, Raj Kapoor, Kishore Kumar to Kamal Haasan, some of Indian cinema''s most talented people have been mustached men. While that doesn’t discount the talent of the non-mustached ones, the number of leading men with ''it'', is fast dwindling. <br /><br />If a Charlie Chaplin-esque moustache became the symbol of ''funny'', the moustache had its moment of glory on the Indian celluloid thanks to Amitabh Bachchan. <br /><br />Think the movie <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Sharabi </span>and what immediately comes to mind is Vijay (Bachchan) telling a blushing Nathulal (Mohammed Mukri), "<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Moochain hon to Nathulal jaisi, warna na ho</span>." (One should sport a moustache like Nathulal''s or not sport it at all)<br /><br />While Bachchan made Nathulal''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">moochain </span>(moustache) a legend, the actor himself never sported one in his angry-young-man avatar (in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Akhri Rasta </span>it was the older Bachchan who has a mooch, the 1973 <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Saudagar </span>was not his typical film and in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Shahenshah</span>, the entire bearded get-up was a disguise). <br /><br />However, with the advent of age, younger actors and what Bachchan calls his "character roles", the moustache and beard have become his best friends. From <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Baghban</span>, to <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dev, Khakee, Boom, Lakshya </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Veer-Zara</span>, the Big B is seen with a moustache and/ or beard. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Next Page: </span><a href="/articleshow/msid-941244,curpg-3.cms" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">The magic of M</a><br /><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><img src="/photo/941273.cms" alt="/photo/941273.cms" border="0" /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="100.9%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" e6e6e6=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">It’s only bizness:</span> Ajay Devgan changed his career graph with his <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span> in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Company</span>.</div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The magic of M</span><br /><br />It''s been heard (and read) often enough that Bollywood has a fascination with anything to do with the letter M (there''s the K too, but that''s FAT – for another time). <br /><br />From movie names with M to actresses being renamed with M, Bollywood''s M-ania keeps re-surfacing now and again. We take it a bit further to include another M factor – the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mooch</span>. <br /><br />One of the funniest movies in Indian cinematic history was the Amol Palekar-Utpal Dutt starrer, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gol Maal</span>. The entire story revolved around Palekar wearing a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span> in one scene and not in the other because Dutt''s character believed a man with a moustache has more brains! <br /><br />Anil Kapoor famously refused to shave off his <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch </span>and insisted the public accept him the way he was (and remains). Guess what? The movie that turned his career around was <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mashal</span>, followed by guess what, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mr India</span>! The only movie where Kapoor got rid of his <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch, Lamhe</span>, was rejected by the public. <br /><br />If you speak of Lakhan, Ram can''t be far behind. Jackie Shroff is another <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Hero </span>who has stuck to his <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span>. While Jaggu <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">dada</span> has been seen clean-shaven at parties and other dos, his on-screen characters have always been with a moustache. <br /><br />Then there are the actors whose careers got that the much needed boost thanks to a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span>. Sunny Deol''s biggest hits (<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gadar </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Border</span>) were with a moustache... a beard and a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">pagri</span>! <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Border</span> also had mustached Suniel Shetty. <br /><br />Ajay Devgan''s not so good career did a volte-face with <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Company –</span> his character was called Malik and had a moustache. Next he sported the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch </span>for Prakash Jha''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gangaajal</span>, another hit. Ram Gopal Varma''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bhoot </span>also had Devgan in a French beard. <br /><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Next Page: </span><a href="/articleshow/msid-941244,curpg-4.cms" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">The man, the mooch, the movie</a><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section4"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script></div> <div align="right" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="right" border="0" width="36.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" ffffff=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/941279.cms" alt="/photo/941279.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">The man, the mooch, the movie</span><br /><br />But the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span>, like every other ''formula'' in Bollywood, does not guarantee a hit. <br /><br />Shah Rukh Khan made a special appearance in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Army </span>with a special get up – Army fatigues and a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span>. However, the audience did not find anything special about the movie. We are yet to see SRK with a moustache again. <br /><br />Ditto for Salman Khan whose only appearance as a bleached-<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span> warrior in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Suryavanshi</span>, was a disaster. Most of the other Khans too – Saif, Zayed, Fardeen – seem to prefer the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">chikna</span> (clean-shaven) look. <br /><br />Ever since Akshay Kumar has grown out of his <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">khiladi </span>mode,<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> </span>he has grown a fondness for facial fair. He will be seen sporting a moustache and a French beard (strangely bleached) in two of his forthcoming flicks: <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Ab Tumhare Watan Sathiyon </span>(pic on right)<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bewafaa </span>respectively. <br /><br />While Sanjay Dutt has played the <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">bhai</span> a tiring number of times now, Sanjay Gupta''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Musafir </span>will be his first don-with-the-<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch</span> look. Will it work? Dutt should hope! Earlier Dutt was praised for his role in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mission Kashmir –</span> that of a mustached-Army officer. <br /><br /></div> <div align="left" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="left" border="0" width="36.5%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" ffffff=""> <div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/941285.cms" alt="/photo/941285.cms" border="0" /></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal">Abhishek Bachchan had been called the dark horse ever since his debut days. He finally lent some credit to that idiom with his performance in Mani Ratnam''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Yuva –</span> with a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch </span>in place (agreed it was more of a not-shaved-for-weeks look!).<br /><br />While both Suresh Oberoi and Rakesh Roshan had moustaches, their sons – Vivek Oberoi and Hrithik Roshan – usually go without one. However, it should be pointed out here that Vivek made an impressive debut in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Company –</span> with a moustache and will again be seen unshaven in Subhash Ghai''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kisna</span> (pic on left).<br /><br />The younger lot apart, there are umpteen examples of mustached actors in Bollywood, from the talented to the has-beens – Mehmood, Johnny Walker, Shatrughan Sinha, Nana Patekar, Manoj Bajpai (in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Satya, Pinjar, Veer-Zaara</span>), Amrish Puri (in all his papa-roles) and Anupam Kher, to name just a few. <br /><br />And when speaking of moustaches, how can one not mention Aamir Khan''s handle-bar in Ketan Mehta''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Rising</span>? <br /><br />But <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">mooch ka magic chalega kya</span> (Will the magic of the moustache work)? While we wait and watch, tell us if you think the mooch symbolises the macho man. </div> </div>
