Beard or no beard, that is the question

So back in November, the Shave India movement W.A.L.S. (Woman Against Lazy Stubble) was launched apparently by a group of ladies that were fighting for a small piece of equality among the sexes. While I can't say I agree with the campaign (after all, it seems really just like a publicity stunt to increase sales for Gillette with no consideration for male preference or even religion), it got me thinking about our favorite hunks. I think almost all of them have experimented with facial hair at one point or another, sometimes for a film, sometimes not. Here's a look at a couple of our leading men...



It's a toss up for me to Abhishek. I like the clean look, he looks very sweet and young, but the beard lends an air of sophistication for him I think.





I much MUCH prefer Aamir's clean shaven look than the full beard, even to the little goatee in DCH, and especially to the crazy giant mustache in Mangal Pandey. Facial hair ages Aamir I think, and even without the botox I think he has a youthful face that's a shame to cover up.




It's a toss up for me for our man Akki. I think he can pull off both looks with ease, though I did see one pic where the beard was looking a little salt and pepper, which made him look much older than he is I think.




This one's a no brainer for me. I hate to see Hrithik's face hidden behind so much hair, though I have to say that a 5 o'clock shadow suits him just fine, except for maybe in this picture...



I'm sorry - came across this and could not not post it, plus it wins my vote for favorite WTF picture! Hrithik, what were you thinking!?




Maybe he's trying to get rid of the image as the cute boy next door, after all Imran did just get engaged, but I hate this kind of half grown in beard look. There's nothing wrong with being just plain adorable!




Well, I know it was for Rocket Singh, and I think I read somewhere that Ranbir couldn't wait to shave off his beard, and I say thank goodness. Definitely a better look for our boy Kapoor.





The man whose look we all love to hate. Yes, I will jump on the wagon that exclaimed hooray when Saif showed up to a recent event with a nice clean face, though I also have to admit that, again, I don't mind a little shadow on him also. Just not the full meal deal, complete with sunglasses and bandanna. Please Kareena, let's not let that happen again!




This is a tough one for me. Shahid is so incredibly good looking that it's almost sacrilidge to cover any of his face up, but he still looks great with a little bit of beard. As long as he keeps it short and trimmed, I can definitely get behind the look.




Beard, no beard, upside down or sideways, I'll take Sharu any way I can have him. I actually don't even mind the moustache look, which he's had in way more movies than I thought. Though if I'm being completely honest, I really am glad that he prefers a clean face. Why cover up perfection!?


And, that's the end of my fangirl topic today!

16 Response to "Beard or no beard, that is the question"

  1. Ness says:
    January 27, 2010 at 6:20 PM

    HAHA LOVE IT! I agree with pretty much all your picks too :) Abhishek is definitely the one man out of all of them who suits the stubble better than the smooth shaven look

  2. Tady Rox! says:
    January 27, 2010 at 6:28 PM

    Abhi needs to have a beard ALL the time...I love it!!!

    Akki..like you say looks good with or with out...he's my golden god!!

    SRK...I think his Chak de India look was the sexiest i've ever seen him...*dies*...

    Everyone else I really prefer with out facial hair..although i will say I do like a little shadow on Saif...but the recent beards he's had..a little works better than alot...

    ...also great topic...it was fun looking at the weird pic of Hrithik...he kinda looks like Bruno!

  3. Shellie says:
    January 27, 2010 at 9:04 PM

    Ness - I actually really like Abhi's clean shaven look a lot. He looks so completely adorable and also completely different than with his stubble. Glad you liked the post!

    Tady Rox - LOL! Bruno! Yes, that's exactly who he looks like. I laughed so hard when I saw that. It kind of makes me feel a little better about pics of me if someone like Hrithik can take such a bad pic.

    And, you are absolutely right about a little going a long way. Almost all of these men look good with a day's worth of growth, but at the end of the day they need to shave it off so it doesn't get out of hand aka. Saif.

  4. dunkdaft says:
    January 27, 2010 at 9:27 PM

    Abhi - beard [but not the one that was in JBJ, he looked yuck]
    Aamir - clean [ofcourse, the chocolate]
    Akki - clean
    Hrithik - Oh God, ofcourse clean, or little stubble. I once termed him 'looked like begger' in an advertisement.
    Imu - Clean
    Ranbir,saif, Shahid, SRK - all clean

    and, oh, how did u find such wtffff pic of Hrithik??

  5. Jules says:
    January 27, 2010 at 10:28 PM

    I prefer all of them with either no facial hair or just a limited five o'clock shadow. Please, God, Hrithik...shave soon.

  6. Unknown says:
    January 27, 2010 at 11:42 PM

    For me, Abhi should ALWAYS have a beard. I just don't dig him without one. To me he kind of looks creepy that way...

    Hrithik frightens me with facial hair. FRIGHTENS! Ugh.

    Shahid... yes, a tough one. I'm going to go with either...

    SRK, well, that scruffy thing he sported in Chak de! made my knees turn to pudding. I couldn't get enough of it!! ...but when I watch Shah I want two things, his lips and his jaw line... even the sexiest of scruff covers that up, which is a detrimental loss to humanity to be sure.

  7. Daddy's Girl says:
    January 28, 2010 at 2:18 AM

    LOVE this post! I think Abhi is the one guy up there who looks better with a beard or some scruff. I know what you mean about the sweetness and freshness of his clean-shaven look, and I do like that it gives him a totally different vibe, but I much prefer him when he's not clean-shaven. I prefer Shahid, Hrithik, Aamir, Akshay, Imran and Ranbir clean-shaven. Saif looks good clean-shaven or with a little scruff. Too much and he looks like a bad hippie wannabe. SRK was SO HOT with that sexy stubble in 'Chak De!', and I wouldn't mind seeing that look on him again, but yeah, usually I like to see as much of his face as I can. Like you though, I don't really care about how much hair there is or isn't on his face - he's SRK!

  8. bollywooddeewana says:
    January 28, 2010 at 3:48 AM

    Interesting Post i think all men look better with a stubble which is why you would never catch me clean shaven,i feel naked without my beard. I'm not one to let it get all bushy a classic stubble like how george Micheal has it in Faith OR THE WAY aBHISHEK USUALLY HAS IT can't look wrong on anyone i think

  9. Shellie says:
    January 28, 2010 at 7:45 AM

    Darshit - I can't believe I found that pick of Hrithik. Worse. Picture. Ever! I agree about Abhi's look in JBJ. He looked like a total slimeball. I think it was the moustache that did it.

    Jules - Hrithik's beard is for a film called Guzarish I believe, though he must be nearly finished filming it soon so hopefully the beard with go bye bye.

    Erin - Hrithik reminds me of Grizzly Adams, esp with the pics where his beard and hair are are really long. Yikes!

    Shah's lips and jaw .............

    Oops, sorry, drifted of into daydream land for a minute. *SIGHS*

    Daddy's Girl - It certainly seems that Abhi is the only guy who can consistently pull off the bearded look in everyone's opinion. I still kind of like the clean look though.

    I was so happy to see pics of Saif shaved FINALLY! Now he just needs to keep it off.

    bollywooddeewana - I can understand that coming from a guy. My husband almost always has some growth on his face and, even when he shaves, he does it once and lets it grow in until I complain! I do think that a little growth looks sexy though on almost everyone too.

  10. ajnabi says:
    January 28, 2010 at 2:27 PM

    I'm with Daddy's girl, the stubble on Abhi is rockin'. And, the way you feel about SRK? I feel about Shahid. Actually I think I might prefer the stubble if I got some choice in the matter though. ;-)

  11. bollyviewer says:
    January 28, 2010 at 2:55 PM

    This is the best excuse for displaying pictures of gorgeous men! ;-)

    I'm usually very anti-facial hair, but in all the pics you've picked, everybody looks better with beards (except for the awful oneindia Hrithik one) to me!

    The only one who I think should always go with beards is Ranbir - he looks too girlie without one! I thought he looked way better as a Sardar in Rocket Singh than he did in WUS.

  12. Shellie says:
    January 28, 2010 at 4:19 PM

    ajnabi - Every time I post a pic of Shahid up I think of you. I love the first one, he looks very very nice. Hard to catch him with any facial hair though.

    bollyviewer - It seems way to inner fangirl to post pics without a purpose! ;)

    There were lots of good pics to choose from, with or without beards, but I agree that Hrithik's needs to go. It didn't look so bad during Cannes, but now it's way to shaggy.

    I didn't mind Ranbir's sardar look, but without the turban it looses it's appeal for me.

  13. dink213 says:
    January 29, 2010 at 11:38 AM

    Five o'clock shade looks good on almost any man. Shahid needs it to look old enough for me to entertain the thoughts I do!
    But as long as no one sports a "muchin" I'm happy.

  14. Shellie says:
    January 29, 2010 at 2:24 PM

    Shahid needs it to look old enough for me to entertain the thoughts I do!
    LOL!

    And, I totally agree with you on all counts!

  15. Anonymous Says:
    February 1, 2010 at 5:28 AM

    For a long time, I entertained the theory that the Samson Effect applied to Abhishek. Since then, I've come to the conclusion that, when he's too busy reading scripts and thinking about his choices to take time out and shave, he does well :-D

    ~ramsu

  16. Shellie says:
    February 1, 2010 at 7:08 AM

    lol! So, either success comes by way of distraction or the power is all in the beard?