Evolution of Hairstyles in Bollywood
The recent blogger’s meet by Wedding Vows at Taj Salon had us thinking about the importance of a good hairstyle and the various hairstyling trends that have created a cult of their own.
Everyone would agree that Hindi cinema and its stars have been a major influence in the evolution of hairstyles. Remember seeing photos of your dad posing with sun glasses and a hairstyle that resembles Amitabh Bachchan’s jet black, side – partitioned hair with a slight bump in the front? Neat but with a speck of mischievousness. If you rewind time by a few decades and go through each of them you’d be surprised to find how seriously people took hairstyles back in olden days and how we’ve carried forward that obsession successfully. All the actors and actresses have set trends that people eagerly picked up and sported in style.
The angry young man hair
Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer
Since we began the topic with Amitabh, let’s keep that thread going. His personality, charisma and magnetism were all positives. But his hairstyle was an even bigger trendsetter; it’s not really out of fashion even now. His side burns added flavour to the hairstyle and the look he was going for. Fashionistas called it the ‘Elvis Presley’ look. His hair was totally complementary to his persona in the movies at the time-that of an angry young man. I don’t think any of us can imagine any other style that would have done his personality more justice. In Mukkadar Ka Sikandar, Mayur who plays a younger version of Amitabh sports the same hairstyle. He did make a huge impact on how men wore their hair.
On the fringe
When I think of haircuts, one that quickly comes to mind is called ‘Sadhna Cut’ named after the famous actor Sadhana from the 60s and 70s. The fringed cut of the legendary actress was a rage among young girls and women. It stayed on for a while too and we can still see remnants of it coming back in a circle every few years. The fringe in this cut only covered part of your forehead; the style has been played around with over the years but it is definitely something that came out of this popular hairstyle. It also meant more freedom and came at a time when women were being pushed towards more empowerment in the West and their hairstyles eventually were adapted to suit India. Known to have been inspired by Audrey Hepburn. The cut was apparently the result of the director and husband R.K. Nayyar suggesting a new haristyle for Sadhana because she had a broad forehead and he wanted to change her look into something more interesting. Look how it has come a long way. Little girls in school, trendy teenagers and working women all still every once in a while yearn for some fringe.
Spikes
Aamir Khan in Dil Chahta Hain
When Aamir Khan sported his famous ever after spikey gelled hair, all the boys in town were ready to try it. He looked so cool with that hair in a suit, in t-shirts, right after he woke up in the morning; pretty much all the time. What boy wouldn’t want girls swooning over his haircut? After Dil Chahta Hai’s release, this haircut seemed to be the flavour of the season. It was best suited for the summers, easy to handle except if you had to keep using gel because your hair won’t stay spikey all the time. This also meant investing in some really good hair gel products which was good for companies selling cosmetics. Other than all of this, it just looked cool. The goatee that went with it only added more charm to the already charming and funny Aamir. This style topped most fashionable hairstyle polls because the urban youth connected with that style because it was “in”. The spikes and the long side burns became a talking point.
Tere Naam
Salman Khan in Tere Naam
How can we ever ignore this one? This was the hairstyle all the boys on the street started sporting after watching the movie. Everyone from waiters to security guards to shopkeepers to milkmen and auto rickshaw wallas had it. A craze among Salman Khan fans. The Tere Naam hairstyle will go down in history for the attention it got. It’s also Salman’s way of carrying it off and making it stylish. He was copied all across India and this was a hairstyle that connected deeply with the masses. This could have gone wrong with anyone else but Sallubhai rocked it in style. Think there could be any other actor who might have been able to pull this off? Unlikely.
Getting knotty
Remember going into a beauty salon or a barber shop and seeing all these gorgeous images of filmstars lined up on the wall with hairstyles you couldn’t choose between. Of course it would never look like that on you but it still made you desire to get one exactly like that. Who can resist the beautifully plaited hair that our Bollywood laides such as Sridevi, Jaya Prada and recently Sonam Kapoor imbibed as their own style? Sometimes adorned with gajra and sometimes keeping it simple, the beauty of long lucious, neatly parted hair knotted into a long plait can be very sexy. It also translated into the girl being more traditional; the “good girl”. Even though it might have a very domestic start to it, actresses such as Kajol, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Nargis Fakhri have been seen sporting a new-age braided hair style which is just a more modern look to our old-school plaits.
So if you are looking for something new, head to the Taj Salons and get yourself a trendy hairstyle inspired by your Bollywood favorite!
