Movember's Men of Kollywood

French beard
Actor: Rajinikanth
Film: Enthiran
The French beard has been around for quite some time, but Thalaivar sporting it in the Shankar flick Enthiran saw a lot of diehard fans of the Superstar sporting it, too. Styling a French beard is not too tough, since the moustache and the beard are styled independent of each other. This style came to be known as the French beard due to its popularity in the French culture, during the late 19th and 20th centuries. So, all the Rajini fans...

Mutton chops
Actor: Ajith
Film: Asal
Who can forget Thala’s classy look in the 2010 film Asal? Ajith sported ‘mutton chop’ tashe – where the moustache is grown out to meet the sideburns and then trimmed to give it a stylish edge. The beard on the chin, however, is absent. Another actor who perfected the mutton chop (of sorts) is Kamal Haasan, in the film Virumaandi. The style was so popular back then, that a slew of men sported the same look! Maintaining a mutton-chop can be quite a task as it requires that extra care.

Handlebar
Actor: Suriya
Film: Singam
Characteristic of the south Indian villain, the handlebar moustache is grand in its look and universal in its appeal. The handlebar, however, found its true pride of place when actor Suriya sported it in the cop-film Singam, giving not just his character some much-needed charisma, but sending all his female fans into a tizzy.

Connoisseur
Actor: Siddharth
Film: Kaaviya Thalaivan
It was Aamir Khan, in his film Mangal Pandey, who made a statement with the connoisseur moustache. This style is fairly simple to create, manage and maintain. Closer home, actor Siddharth will be sporting the look in his film Kaaviya Thalaivan, where he essays the role of a theatre artist. The style screams sophistication and adds finesse to facial hair.

Dali
Actor: Vadivelu
Film: Thenaliraman
Named after the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali, this moustache style is a little eccentric, just like its namesake. The moustache is long and narrow and the ends are twirled into an upward curve. One saw Vadivelu sporting the style in his comeback film Thenaliraman, which had him essaying the role of a king. Perfect, since the character had shades of humour and the Dali style gave the character the apt look.

Toothbrush
Actor: Sivaji Ganesan
Film: Hitler Umanath
One of Charlie Chaplin’s identifying features, apart from his trademark hats, was his toothbrush moustache. The style was also one of Adolf Hitler’s most striking features. Not a popular style among Kollywood stars, very few actors have actually sported the look for a full-length movie, except Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan, who bravely carried off the style in his movie Hitler Umanath.

Pencil
Actor: MGR
Film: Aayirathil Oruvan
Minimalist in its appearance, but appealing nonetheless, the pencil-style moustache was a rave back in the 70s and no one wore it better than everyone’s favourite matinee idol MG Ramachandran. Narrow, straight and close-clipped to the lip-line, this moustache looks almost like it was drawn with a dark pencil. Popularized first in the 40s by the iconic Clark Gable, this tashe is also known as the mouth-brow and is sported by a number of actors even today – take a look at Sean Penn.