Mush too Macho
Our male stars love their moustaches; they feel it's manly, and if it can help a cause, all the more better.
Remember Utpal Dutt's motto in 'Golmaal'? “A moustache is the mirror of the human soul and mind."
It is November and what comes this month is the Movember Movement. It is a worldwide movement where men sport moustaches throughout the month of November. The movement is designed to raise funds to support and spread awareness about prostrate cancer and testicular cancer.
Bengaluru is having its own Movember this year.
“It is basically an interactive initiative where participants are clean-shaven at the beginning of the month. They grow the moustache through the month and post pictures of its progress to support the movement symbolically," says Ravitej, co-founder of Medicash.in, the company which is organising Movember 2013 in Bengaluru.
Sporting a moustache is quite a trend among South Indian actors like Sudeep, Uppi, Yash, Chetan and so many more.
“I sport a moustache mostly for a role. I have lost the freedom of doing my kind of styling but I do like sporting a moustache whenever I am free from a role," says actor, Yash.
If we look at mythology, prominent men have always sported moustaches. At least that is what TV soaps, books and illustrations tell us. Many men find it manly, and many do it to look good.
“I think we shouldn't try too hard to look good. I sport (a mush) where I let my hair and facial hair grow so that the ruggedness shines through and that, becomes a style," says actor Chetan Kumar.
In films, we get to hear punch dialogues from heroes sporting a large moustache.
Even the barber asks you twice before shaving off one. Many men prefer the clean shaven look, but there are still many who will do anything for a moustache.
“Generally, men have wanted to be the dominant sex. Sporting a moustache gives men that psychological boost. In the olden days, in some families, it was tradition that the male child sport a moustache as heredity. But that is not the case now. It is all about prefer ences in today's world," explains Dr Anuradha Arun, a psychologist.
Some men also sport a moustache to look wiser, or to maintain an image. “When I am clean-shaven, people treat me as a child and don't take me seriously. My identity, as the vocalist of Live Banned, requires me to sport a moustache and a beard. People don't recognise me when I am clean shaven. If growing a moustache is backed by a cause I would definitely do it," says Amrit Rao, vocalist of Live Banned!