Why, Oh Why, Does Amitabh Bachchan Wear a Wig?
Our favorite Gabriel Garcia Marquez character Florentino Ariza (Love in the Time of Cholera) was not the only one to worry about losing hair and to try every potion and pomade in a futile battle against that great scourge of men everywhere – baldness.
Indians through the ages have done the same and when all else fails resort to wigs.
Here are some Indian personalities famous for their wigs:
Rajinikanth – This balding grandpa and Tamil movie superstar wears a wig when he acts with girls who are young enough to be his great-grand daughters. Like his Sivaji co-star Shriya Saran, for instance.
Raaj Kumar – The late Bollywood actor of Jaani fame was known to wear a wig.
Rajkumar – Kannada film star Rajkumar (1929-2006) used to wear a wig in some of his movies.
Rakesh Roshan – In his forgettable days as an actor, Rakesh Roshan (better known as father of Hrithik Roshan) used to wear a wig to cover up his premature baldness.
Dewang Mehta – The late Executive Director of the Indian software association Nasscom was never seen without his wig. Dewang was a great guy who did a lot to promote the Indian software industry in the early days (Nasscom’s present chief Som Mittal is also bald as a door-knob but he does not wear a wig).
MGR – The late Tamil film actor and politician wore a wig in many of his movies. In public, MGR was never seen without his fur cap in his later years.
Future Wig Wearers?
Salman Khan – Bollywood criminal Salman Khan is said to be losing his hair at an alarming rate.
Aamir Khan – Another Bollywood star who seems to be going bald pretty fast is Aamir Khan.
Are there any other Indian wig-wearers we’ve missed? Any women in the baldie-list? 😉
Readers Contribution:
Sathyaraj – Tamil film hero and villain
Karthik (Mouna Ragam) – Tamil movie star
Amitabh Bachchan – Bollywood star
Rajesh Khanna – It’s likely that Bollywood romantic hero of the 1960s and 1970s Rajesh Khanna too used to wear a wig in his later years. Age and a receding hairline make no allowances, not even for erstwhile Bollywood superstars.
Bald but Non-Wigged
Satya Nadella – Microsoft CEO
Related Indian Wig Personalities:
Why, Oh Why, Does Amitabh Bachchan Wear a Wig?
Great Indian Baldies & their Wigs added by SearchIndia.com on
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These names don’t belong in the same league as the names mentioned above..
Sathyaraj and Karthik (Mouna Ragam)
some actresses used to wear wigs, I believe.. to show denser and longer hair than what they actually have.. probably not anymore.. as it is fashionable to have short hair now (is it?)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks. We’ve updated the Baldies list.
There must be some famous Indian woman who used to wear a wig.
You write above: Sathyaraj and Karthik (Mouna Ragam)
Reminds us of an old Sathyaraj movie in which after every rape, Sathyaraj’s character in the movie says: En characterae purinjika matikingalae
You have forgotten Amitabh Bachhan.
While Rajnikanth has no hesitation in appearing without a wig in public when he is not shooting, Amitabh is particular about wearing his wig, shooting or no shooting.
Rakesh Roshan, late Amrish Puri and Anupam Kher have fully bald pates.
The then superstar Rajesh Khanna’s decline is attributed to his receding hairline, and of course, to Amitabh.
As an aside, while the present generation may know Rakesh Roshan better as the father of Hritik, people of a slightly earlier generation recognize Rakesh Roshan as the son of Roshan (Roshan Nagarath), who was an accomplished music composer for Hindi movies, and gave us some all-time great melodies.
Rakesh’s brother Rajesh Roshan (bald again) has also composed some fine songs (Dil kya kare, from Julie, etc).
Rakesh Roshan himself was a charming actor but was not very successful. But he made a name for himself as the director of some commercially very successful movies over last 20 years.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Thanks for the tip on Amitabh ‘wig’ Bachchan. We’ve added it to the list.
2. Dil kya kare from Julie is a lovely song. We’ve listened to it a million times.