Taking a ‘bald’ step ahead!

Remember Kulbhushan Kharbanda as 'Shakaal' waving his palm across his baldhead in the multistarrer hit SHAAN directed by Ramesh Sippy. That gesture sent shivers down the audiences' spine but the performance also cemented Kharbanda's rank as a first-rate actor in the industry. But off-screen Kharbanda does not keep a bald look. One could also recall the famous Shetty, who used to design the stunts back in the 70's and also played henchman to the villains, was an instant stand-out coz' of his bald come-across. The late Amrish Puri donned a distinct bald crust that was capped by his trademark hat making him a characteristic but sophisticated individual. The ever-brilliant Anupam Kher was always distinguished right from the beginning due to his plain scab and the equally classy Paresh Rawal had put on a hairless dabble for many of his movies; DILWALE being the most noticeable! Hardly must it have crossed their minds back then that they are paving the way for the future resurgence which would witness the 'balding' saga that's gonna be rampant, to say the least! All the above mentioned 'bald'sters were needless to say, scoffed at initially and in Bollywood the clean shaven look was plausibly restricted to the bad guys of the screen. Heroes generally didn't opt for the polished plain-head look but just take a glance around and you will notice a radical change in the scenario.

Getting bald has now become a fashion gambol and it is fast gaining acceptance amongst the celebrities. The lanky Aditya Panscholi has adorned the look and went on with the same stride out in MUSAFIR as the cunning cop. Just summon up the bald headed right-hand of Amitabh Bachchan in SARKAR played by the talented Ravi Kale, whose stern glare in the movie was just remarkable. Sometime back when Deepa Mehta was making WATER, there was a noise that the accomplished Shabana Azmi had shaved her head clean for her part in the film. Deepa had to shelve that film unfortunately due to the protests from certain contingent, but has now completed the film that will be released soon in India; the only difference is that Shabana's role is now essayed by Seema 'Bandit Queen' Biswas. Today's top-most filmmaker and a fine actor back in the 70's and 80's Rakesh Roshan and his music director brother Rajesh Roshan are other candidates in the category. The witty ex-cricketer Vinod Kambli flared the bald get-up for a long-time and he had retained his shimmer for his acting attempt in ANARTH. Now the latest buzz is that none other than Salman Khan has decided to slip into the 'bald' act for his forthcoming film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Salman will be playing three different characters each with a specific get-up and apparel.

Hollywood actors have always picked the clean shaven look as and when the opportunity surfaced; recently Colin Farrel played a balded villain in DAREDEVIL and now the gifted Denzel Washington has decked out the same tread for his latest film THE INSIDE MAN. So if the Hollywood hunkies can go for the extreme then why not our very own desi counterparts? Secondly, just take this for a bite, if all the stars decide to go clean-shaven what would happen to the hairdressers and hair stylists in the industry. Wouldn't they go unemployed and starve to misery? So why these stars wanna get so cruel. Instead they should go for the Aamir Khan way as in MANGAL PANDEY, then the hair doers won't have to look out for any other work for a couple of years. Anyway, one must not ignore the fact that our Bollywood actors or celebs have started to go experimental which is a part and parcel of their profession, coz say a decade back this wouldn't have happened. Looks are still the priority but the guts to go rustic are sure something worth mentioning. They are taking a 'bald' step ahead, so let them walk on! And if their baldness clicks gold for their movies, who knows the rest of the stars will decide on to cut the black grass on their heads. After all this has been a Bollywood tradition. If one takes a jump, the others follow blindly; so be it this time too!