December 23, 2008

(Bollywood) Men I love

I tried to make a list of 13 Bollywood men I've fallen in love with, one time or another. Quality of acting was not a criteria, more of a trait that amplified their general awesomeness. It could have been much longer if I hadn't constrained myself to 13, but the number served as a way to narrow it down to men I truly love! [Surprises: Salman and Akshaye didnt make the cut (gasp!)] I love my men best in certain decades (as indicated)- my favorite period seems to be 50-60s!

1. Dev Anand
Ultra Hawtness Period: 50s-60s
I loved him best when he did noir- oh the arrogance- oh the hair!

2. Rehman
Ultra Hawtness Period: 50s-60s
So manly, so in control- and yet he could be so gentle (Chaudvin Ka Chand)...


3. Guru Dutt
Ultra Hawtness Period: 50s
I never thought I'd love a emo guy- but there it is :S I admit he isn't high on the looks or physique, but man he is charismatic (swoon).

4. Ajit
Ultra Hawtness Period: 50s
Stop thinking of the man as the villain of the 70s- he was the uber hawt 50s star that completely rocked noir- LOVE the Ajit- and then worship him.

5. Feroz Khan
Ultra Hawtness Period: 60s
Ultra macho, ultra hot, I love the man- wouldn't you? Just look at him!




6. Dharamendra
Ultra Hawtness Period: 60s
"Greek God"?- yes definitely.

7. Joy Mukherjee
Ultra Hawtness Period: 60s
No real reason- except I love.



8. Shashi Kapoor
Ultra Hawtness Period: 60s-80s
Highest longevity in terms of looks alone. But I really find him the most attractive in the 80s, which were cruel to almost everyone else- that graying hair on the temples was just too hot :D


9. Danny Denzongpa
Ultra Hawtness Period: 70s-current
Another long and hotsome career- I can watch this man in any role, in any decade- and he is STILL adorable (swoon). Like the Shash, he gets better as he gets older.

10. Vinod Khanna
Ultra Hawtness Period: 70s
A 70s Vinod, ideally wearing glasses or even sunglasses. Ah!


11. Shatrughan Sinha
Ultra Hawtness Period: 60s-70s
Not conventionally handsome, but so manly- and so much character in those eyes, in that demeanour. I can totally understand what made him my mom's fav movie star.


12. Shammi Kapoor
Ultra Hawtness Period: 50s-60s
Those eyes were so persuasive, so pleading- so fuzzy puppy adorable.


13. Abhay Deol
Ultra Hawtness Period: 2000s
Again something about the eyes. And it helps that he is a humanized version of Dharamendra.


Update: 12/27/2008.

After Darshit and Nicki's insistance, I had to add 2 honorable mentions :D

14. Kabir Bedi
Ultra Hawtness Period: 70s
Due to his considerably slim body of work, I did basely forget him. Darshit reminded me and I made amends!






















15. Salman Khan
Ultra Hawtness Period: 90s
I added, and then deleted him because to me, he has just not optimized himself. For his sake, I've watched drivel like "Auzaar" 4 times (:D), but he has just become so manicured and metro that I miss the HAWT Salman- I cant recognize this Sallu person anymore- so heartbroken.



22 comments:

TNL said...

Oh my.....what a great list...I agree with you on Rehman and Shashi Kapoor...gosh, what gorgeous men! The others are good too but those two stand out! for me anyway.
Biswajeet would make my list too!

Hugs,
trupti

ajnabi said...

Couldn't agree more about Dharmendra, Shashi and Shammi! Dharmendra in particular just oozed sex appeal out of his pores.

Banno said...

Not Feroz Khan, Joy Mukherjee, Shatrughan Sinha and Guru Dutt. For me. I would replace them with Abhishek Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Salman Khan. God, how idiotic that sounds.

a ppcc representative said...

OMG YES TO THE YESTH DEGREE ON SHASHI, OF COURSE.

swoooon.

And another swoooon for Vinod. SIGH.

And secret, furtive swooon for Danny - but just 70s Danny for me!

Otherwise your picks have noses which are too small for the PPCC. We need big honkers, which designate outrageous personality and expressive emotionality.

But, most important of all: WHERE did you find that fantastically retro pic of Shotgun?!

Crazy on Bollywood said...

Not a good list at all.I think any favorite actor list can't be complete with out the superstar AMITABH BACHCHAN.No one can't even dare to ignore his contribution on bollywood movies.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Trupti: Its hard to keep it at 13 na? So many men, so lil time :D

Ajnabi: I loved that man in the 60s- I just saw "Anupama," and he was gorgeous.

Banno: lol- I can just see those 4 disappearing in thin air and the other 4 replacing them- ggl. I couldnt include any of the new khans because they all appear so extremely metrosexual (Salman and SRK wax?!) and Abhishek has metrosexual attitude, though he looks grungy enough.

PPCC: Here is the Shatru link: http://www.surfbollywood.com/imgbrowser.pl?CAT=Bollywood&CELEBRITY=Shatrughan%20Sinha&GENRE=Photo%20Gallery
Noses? Noses??? I'm going to have to pay more attention to those now- havent really looked I guess :D

Crazy on Bollywood: Too bad- I just did! :D See, you can make ur own list, and include him- we all have our favorites!

Anonymous said...

shweta: we have very similar taste :-) Except for Joy and Dev Anand (and not Shotgun Sinha or Abhay YET, but I'm keeping my options open) the rest would be on my list too :-)

dunkdaft said...

I totally agree with you on...
Dev Anand, Gurudutt, Dharam, Shammi, Shashi, Feroz and Ajit.

Last but not the least, Abhay.

Haven't seen Rehman at all. So no comments.

And what about Rajesh Khanna? kabir Bedi?

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Memsaab: The more I see these pix, the more I realize how adorable the guys r :D I do hope u will come to love Shatru and Abhay one day :) Its really quite dumb how dizzily I am waiting for Abhay's Dev D to come out!

Darshit: I never could really warm up completely to Rajesh, except in a handful of movies- I couldn't see his macho-ness :) As for Kabir Bedi: He should have been on the list- so he IS #14- totally my bad that forgot him :)

Unknown said...

I completely and 100%ly approve of this list *stamps her seal of approval*

Mum used to find Joy Mukherjee funny looking, but I really had a soft spot for him. *pokes*

:D

Merry [belated] Christmas!

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Feroz?!? Hee! Todd will be so proud.

The world needs more Shashi/Vinod pairings, if not just for the swoon factor.

Nicki said...

Interesting list. You know how shallow I am when I posted my list. But I'm still sad...no Salman? :)

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Arantxa: Maasi thinks he is FUNNY looking???? omg but u know what, my ma thinks the same :) She was always surprised I liked him :) Oh these sisters- they dont get our Joy-love :) and of course, belated merry christmas, tho its never going to be christmassy enough without naani around.

Beth: Oh yes Feroz- so so manly- the original Khan (heart) Shashi-Vinod would be good- I also wish they'd do a movie together NOW- theyre still so cute!

Nicki: I felt bad, but I actually put Salman in, and then deleted- he's just way too metrosexual now- I couldnt put him next to the other guys :( my bad :P

Nicki said...

You're sooo silly! You're right. Sallu is too metrosexual now, I totally agree with that. But he will always have a special place in my heart...but it's kinda unfair since you're judging some of the guys above on how they were at their peak of their careers. Just me sticking up for Sallu, hehehe. You could've put Sallu - 90s. ;P

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Oh Nicki: yes I have the market cornered on silliness I admit :) And u are right about the 90s Sallu- So he should go back in there. And I did put him on, along with the gorgeous Mr. Bedi :P

Nicki said...

Yah!!!! I'm so happy you added Sallu. Totally satisfied now. I know. I have to re-watch his hotness era as well. :)

NidaMarie said...

Shweta,

Enjoyable list Shweta! I really had fun reading it--and the comments!

I don't know many of these actors (YET!!), but Dharmendra is so gorgeous...I just read a review on "Blackmail" and feel like running out and grabbing it tonight!!

My list would include Salman, but I do agree with you and Nicki that he was best in the 90s...too metrosexual now indeed!

I'm glad your list included somewhat nonpopular choices such as Joy Mukerjee. It's your list, and you personalized it. :)

Beth Loves Bollywood said...

Only vaguely related, but it came to mind: you've seen the Facebook group Bollywood gave me unrealistic expectations about desi men, I assume? Our boys, they do bad things to our heads, na? Nothing Jane Austen hadn't already done, in my case, but still.

Anonymous said...

Ahahahha @ humanized version of Dharam! Although I know what you mean, he reminds me of the early vulnerable Dharam. So sweet! I can't wait for Dev D!

And Rehman! I'm so happy to see the Rehman love. The only person I'd add to this list is Balraj Sahni. I love the aloof, older sophisticated man vibe he always had going. I never understood why any heroine would choose some brawny half-man, half-animal over him when he'd look at you with those gentle eyes. Sigh.

My, what an exclamation-heavy comment this has been!

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Nicki: At last!

Nida: Blackmail is seriously fun- its definitely one of my fav Dharam movies ever! Salman I did add after much thought :D

Beth: I shall check out that gp- I def need to b more active at facebook :) Rofl about Jane and Bollywood giving us unrealistic expectations about guys- thats so true- I bet Ms austen would think it fun to b compared to Bollywood :D

Amrita: Rahman is just so MANLY- he should have lived longer! and yeah- I just saw the Dev D promo and am all aflutter :D

Anonymous said...

What a great list! I loooove everybody in it (except for Sallu and Abhay but the latter is growing on me) - and like Amrita I would add Balraj Sahni, too. And Kabir Bedi's Ultra Hawtness Period is only 70s? Methinks he gets better with age - do you remember him from Hema's TV serial Noopur? He was swoon-inducingly HAWT there! Even in Main Hoon Na I thought he was more interesting than the leads.

Shweta Mehrotra Gahlawat said...

Bollyviewer: I agree w/ you on Kabir still looking amazing, but I love how zany and fashion forward he was in the 70s- which is probably why that was his best period for me. Since then he has gone all elegant, which is still gr8, but the 70s Kabir just completely drives me insane [blush and giggles].