[Fashion] Trending: Men With Beards!

Here, I take a self-assigned avatar of a fashion commentator and observer and comment on the latest trend :)

If you observe, 'beard' is in trend recently. In ads, media, sports, and in real life, more men are seen keeping beards of different shapes and sizes. Except that too long a beard is still avoided since it generates 'religious' vibes; although no hygiene concerns yet which I think it genuinely possesses. French beard which was fashionable earlier is now seen as the "same old rut" - i.e. limited in creativity and variations. An interesting trend is a medium size one complemented with a 'proper' mustache - as Pierce Brosnan is seen sporting in the picture. That is revival of an old style. Another observation is that an increase in length of a beard has resulted in hair on the head to remain short - which otherwise some men used to grow longer a few years ago.

Beard has always been recommended to some men; as it makes them appear 'better groomed'. Especially for men with too thin faces, e.g. actor Aditya Roy Kapoor, or too small faces, e.g. Virat Kohli, or too regular a face, e.g. Abhishek Bachchan and Arjun Kapoor. A beard has not always been seen as a tool to hide or improvise over a regular face into one which can be taken more seriously by others. Handsome men in all ages have given beard an air of dignity and gravity which I think it truly deserves.

Traditionally a beard symbolizes 'wisdom' which comes with 'seniority' - since boys can't have it and only grown up men have it. Young men are always sensitive about their facial hair as they see it as a symbol of 'masculinity'. Bigger the better - denser, the mightier. Boys will be boys - and there is nothing you can do about it if you don't have it in you yet despite reaching the right age. So while historically, beard has been seen as connected with masculinity, what does the current 'trend' - return of the beard - indicate?

I think the current popular trend of keeping beard and its slight increase in length is connected to diminishing role of men and their masculinity in society. Men are feeling slightly marginalized, with women achieving greater than ever power both in the work place and in the matters of the home - thanks to the trend which is now a norm of so called 'working women'. Increasingly men are feeling less empowered in taking decisions independently. And hence, in the popular trend, have started 'exerting' their masculinity in the form of a 'symbolism' of beard!

So where does this symbolism and gesturing lead us to? Will it result in men 'resisting' the flow or direction in which society is heading? Only time can tell, but I believe this trend is a kind of balancing act and it can help men 'settle down' with the situation better. A beard, after all, if it makes men feel more confident, then unless they start feeling 'too confident' about themselves, is a harmless 'sport' after all.

Let men grow beard if they like to. It is good for FMCG business anyway :)

- Written by Rahul Tiwary (All personal opinion - let me know your 'reactions' :)

Observations on The Anupam Kher Show

I am a great fan of Anupam Kher and I have huge admiration for his talent and charisma. I think he is one of the finest actors of Bollywood. For some time ‘The Anupam Kher Show’ has been running on popular TV channel Colors and I watch it most of the times. The show’s format is good and it is content rich. Over the time I have made some observations on the show and wish to pen down those. These are merely my observations and intent is not personal towards anyone.

Awarding or gifting the guests at random: In some of the episodes, Anupam Kher gifts the guest with a memoire which is generally a written memento lauding the person for his or her achievements and commending the person. But this practice is followed only when some veteran celebrity arrives at the show and when some newcomer actor or actress or someone less famous from the chosen few comes, he or she does not get any such honor or award. Randomness of celebrity choices to whom such awards are given baffles the viewers and it is an uncomfortable moment near the end of the show. I mean last week you saw how Mr. Kher flattered that celebrity with a gift, but this week the show just ‘abruptly’ comes to an end! The celebrity who does not get award appears insecure about what is going to happen next too. In my opinion, even if Mr. Kher thinks some of the guests are unworthy to get an award and memento from his hands, he should still gift that person a memento – it does not cost much and it appears niceon his part. A good host does not discriminate between his guests.

Volley of questions: Quite often and abruptly at some point in the show we witness Mr. Kher showering the guest celebrity with a volley of questions. It is like a ‘rapid fire round’ without being labeled so. Viewers get confused for a moment and take time to settle down and realize what is happening. When this is in progress, which can start anytime without viewers or the guest having any clue, communication is one-way, i.e. Mr. Kher asks questions, the guest answers, but Mr. Kher instead of grasping the answer or responding or reacting to it, simply asks next question. At times this looks insensitive. After all, the guest might have shared a piece of his or her heart; something private or something dear to his or her heart; and the host is expected to respond or at least acknowledge it sensibly!

Too much flattery of some while ignoring some others: I don’t know if it was intended through the format of the show that the host Mr. Kher should often be too personal or impersonal towards the guests depending on who the guest is. When some old timer veteran actor or actress comes, he is seen flattering him or her with all the powers he possesses but when some youngsters or less famous celebrity comes, he is seen too impersonal or aloof/detached at times. I noticed when Sonam Kapoor came, at many points Mr. Kher kept her at arm’s length, i.e. did not respond with the same warmth with which Sonam was talking to him. Is it contempt or disapproval reflecting in Mr. Kher’s behavior towards those he thinks do not deserve too much respect for their not-so-great talent? It also reflects in the fact that Mr. Kher appears to have done much homework on some celebrities while on some others he appears unprepared and more like scratching on the surface.

Calling multiple celebrities: In many episodes two celebrities were called while it would be better to have only one. I think this show’s best USP is the content which is soaked in personal experiences of the celebrities who come on the show. Most of the time the celebrity guests have too much content to share but Mr. Kher has to flip between the two guests and hence viewers lose continuity. Though I must say that Mr. Kher tries to be balanced towards both hosts on such occasions brilliantly. I think if at some point of time this show could be documented in the form of a book, the book will definitely be a great hit. But for that to happen, episodes with two or more celebrities in it won’t make that much sense.

Appearing insensitive towards some guests: I am a big fan of Aditya Roy Kapoor. In today’s (7^th of Sep) episode I did not like it when as soon as Aditya arrived and sat down – Mr. Kher asks something like, “We were discussing how Parineeti has been a topper and good in studies. Somehow I feel you have been an opposite of her…” This was not a respectful line to begin with; after all, was it written on Aditya’s face that he was not good at studies in school? For next fifteen minutes or so Aditya is quizzed on how he did not know what to do in life (which no kid does!) and in short how he fitted into the mold Mr. Kher had created for him! The frank, honest and cool manner in which Aditya handled all these questions was adorable. And while asking all these questions, Mr. Kher laughed at Aditya while Parineeti joined him and also interrupted Aditya with her comments perhaps in order to show her presence on the show and not to allow Aditya eclipse her. In my opinion some editing should have been done for Aditya’s portion to come uninterrupted.

There are many positives of the show too, that is why I shall continue watching it. If I have to name a few, first thing is rich content, which won’t be possible without the brilliant Mr. Kher asking those probing and intelligent questions which encourage celebrities to come out of shells and bare their hearts. Honoring one viewer in each show and giving him/her opportunity to talk to the celebrity is also a very novel idea. Mr. Kher himself is excellent and adds huge star power to the show. Still, sometimes I have felt uncomfortable with the points I mentioned in the earlier parts of this article and hence thought to share what I felt. I am sorry if some feelings were hurt of the viewers who consider this show or Mr. Kher flawless. There is always a room for improvement – as Mr. Kher says and I like it very much, “Kuchh bhi ho sakta hai”!

Aashiqui 2 and Loss of decent life

Ever since I watched Ashiqui-2, I wanted to write about it. Because I found some threads in it difficult to contain.

When we went to watch the movie, it was third week since its release and yet the theatre was fully occupied. I think since the star-caste was new, people did not have very high expectations of it in the beginning but word-of-mouth resulted in gradual increase in its viewership. From what could be felt, everyone in the theatre enjoyed it a lot.

The story though had some repeated threads like damsel in distress; rich boy falling for poor girl, etc, by the end story was unique and not seen before. I am assuming that you have watched it or know its story. At the end Rahul (played by Aditya Roy Kapoor) is shown as committing suicide because he felt he was being a burden on his girl Aarohi and her bright career was suffering because of him. But somehow I felt he thought his life was over at the beginning of the movie itself, when he no longer was a celebrity. He had gotten used to extreme fame and celebrity status and he could not reconcile with the fact that his stardom had faded (though I don’t think he had lost his golden voice, but his drinking habit was killing him; and btw, this movie should be awarded and celebrated for its anti-alcohol stance). Once he could not perform in a small town he just gave up. He gave up against struggling and trying any more for his career. But the role of his enemies to disrupt him and frequently violently attack him were very unfortunate and it seems if they had not played havoc in his life, Rahul could have lived longer. Also, Rahul being a victim of his own fame, could not contact the Police or authorities; something which he should have done. 

Exactly at the point in his life when Rahul had given up every hope, he found the girl and hence found a “purpose” in his life. Such wasteful situations are drag; why should he, who had everything which is mark of a successful person, be so fed up of life? It is certainly because he or people like him fail to see the higher purpose in life. If purpose of life was only to eat, drink and enjoy life, then certainly, a lot of people should feel they have had enough and decide to quit! And ‘quitting’ would mean jumping off the bridge! I always see these Bollywood heroes earning so much money that they won’t be able to spend in a thousand lives! Certainly they are not going to take all money to the next life, so what is it that they want by only ‘taking’ and not ‘giving back’? When I heard that Vivek Oberoi (I am his big fan btw) had adopted some villages devastated by Tsunami and helped rebuilding it, I felt it such a wonderful job. One can’t be in one’s right sense of mind and yet don’t see so many ways in which we can contribute to our country’s progress. It is irony that people who don’t have that kind of money speak and think about helping the country, but those who have it never really try to do it. Getting back to the story; while it was depressing to find that Rahul had given up all hopes, it was elating to see what he was doing for Aarohi. Aarohi seemed to be on a dream-ride where a big man Rahul Jaykar was helping her build her successful career, helping her parents to get out of a pit of poverty and at the same time seemed to be in love with her. What more could a girl ever desire?

Yet in the end Rahul took suicidal decision after getting fed up with his decisions to quit drinking which he could never stop. The portrayal of slaves of drinking is so wonderfully done; I don’t know why I don’t hear government giving the movie some award. Perhaps it is because the end was negative. Anyways, how could Rahul and Aarohi have had a different end? I think I have a quick solution – a wedding. I think they should have got married after Aarohi established herself well in the industry and won awards for her. But I think the biggest challenge was to answer “what does he do?” Rahul did nothing, other than supporting Aarohi. Whatever hope his friend and assistant could see for resurrecting Rahul’s career, was lost ever since he got into this train of love without expectations. But somehow I think that by loving Aarohi, Rahul was giving his own life one last chance…

I am sure if they had got married, Rahul and Aarohi could have got ahead quite well. Rahul would have felt the necessity of doing ‘something’ and hence could have either gotten back to singing or started some new venture. Given his contacts in the industry and past success, it was not difficult for him to do a lot of things and be successful at those. But his drinking habit which made him go down often, and his ‘status quo’ with nothing new visible in life, made him take a decision he was ready since a long time back – to quit.

 

I am essentially mourning for loss of his life. Though I know it happened only in movies, it is likely to be the real story of some real person, if not today then tomorrow. Why should people live such a life that they lose all hope? Also, I am slightly biased towards sensible gentlemen; because while I can find many gentle and sensible girls and ladies, I don’t find many men. Men who would not hurt others; won’t be power crazy and money ‘minded’; who would help others in need; and spread a smile… Too good men are too few now a day. Therefore I felt a personal loss when Rahul took that decision; as if I lost a good genuine friend too…

Now my secret wish is that the movie makers make Aashiqui-3. Aashiqui-2 did not show any dead body; so they could show that Rahul had not really jumped; or may be jumped only to find another man jumping too and tried to save him and came out of the river downstream at some distance. He spends 5 years in a village, may be helping the village stand on their feet; all the while remaining invisible and also forgetting his drinking habit; and one day he gets to read a newspaper which carries Aarohi’s story. Aarohi had not married anyone else and had waited for him. The story should be of their union and everything should become alright and ‘happy ending’… I strongly feel a new part should come and Rahul and Aarohi should get united. After all they can do whatever they like in movies! If they broke our heart in Aashiqui-2, let them heal us in Aashiqui-3!