TOI: Clean shaven out, stubble in-Hina

Times have changed and so have trends on the small screen. The chocolate boy look that ruled tellyland at one point is totally out with most top TV guys sporting the stubble. The list includes: Barun Sobti in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?, Arhaan Behl in Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya, Kushal Tandon in Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hain, Gurmeet Choudhary in Punar Vivah — Zindagi
Milegi Dobara, Jay Bhanushali in Kairee: Rishta Khatta Meetha, Anas Rashid and Gautam Gulati in Diya Aur Baati Hum, Vivan D'sena in Madhubala — Ek Ishq Ek Junoon, Kunal Karan Kapoor of Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuch Kaha, Ashish Sharma in Rab Se Sohna Isshq, Sameer Soni in Parichay —Nayee Zindagi Kay Sapno Ka, Siddharth Shukla in Balika Vadhu and Avinesh Rekhi in Chhal-Sheh Aur Maat.

The main reason for this is the changing taste among female fans, who seem to like the macho look better. There was a time, when producers asked for the actor to be clean-shaven, but today it's the other way round. Like actor Gurmeet Choudhary, who's changed his appearance for his show, says, "I don a rugged look in my show as it was the requirement of my character. And let me tell you that the girls love it. To maintain it, I just need to change my shaving schedule. Instead of shaving in the morning, I do it in the night."

Actor Vivian D'sena too has started loving his unkempt look. "Little stubble Suits me. I am told that I look like a school boy in a clean-shaven look. As an actor, I personally need to like my look and only then can I convince the audience about the change in my appearance. My fiance Vahbbiz Dorabjee is quite excited about my stubble look." So, does he find it hard to maintain his beard on a regular basis? "It isn't difficult at all, but I need to take constant care which isn't a problem for me," says Vivian.

Of course, this trend isn't entirely new. It started a couple of years ago with cool dudes like Karan Singh Grover, Nikhil Arya and Sushant Singh Rajput, among others, making it popular. But now it seems like it's here to stay...

Kritika Kamra These days the male leads are not playing college boys. They are not shown as 19 or 20 years old. They are portrayed as married and mature, so perhaps that is the reason most of them are sporting a stubble and they can't be given the chocolate boy look. I like the rugged look, but stubble looks nice on certain men, not everybody can pull it off.

Hina Khan In my show, my hero is a chocolate boy. But I like hunks with a good body and stubble. Which girl doesn't like men with a certain style and charisma? I wouldn't like my guy to look like a mama's boy, or someone with male features but feminine looks!

Ragini Khanna Usually, the female lead is shown nice and sweet and to complement her these days we have guys with stubble. Even in movies these days you will find macho men. Actually, it is not just about films and television, even in real life girls prefer men over boys, and as we say dream man and never dream boy. It is more aspirational. Guys with a rugged look come across as more mature and dependable.

Drashti Dhami I prefer chocolate boy looks because they look more innocent. These days lot of guys on television are seen in a macho look, but I don't like what has become too common. And the actor I like the most in a chocolate boy look is Ranbir Kapoor followed by Shahid Kapoor. In Rock On, Ranbir tried looking rough but finally he was liked in his clean-shaven avatar.

Pooja Gor Thank God that the rugged look is back. Guys with stubble look more casual and natural. It doesn't look made up. I don't like it when guys work on their looks, their hair and face. They look more real in that rough look. As a teenager I liked the chocolate boy look but that has changed.

Ankita Lokhande Sushant was the first one to sport the macho look on television. Since, he was my co-star, I started liking the look. He played a mechanic and was seen wearing a check shirt, jeans, chappals and messy hair. It was a casual look. I really loved that look a lot. When I was in my teens I may have liked the clean-shaven look but now it is definitely macho men in stubble.

Seema Sinha and Amrita Mulchandani