When I went bald for Deepa Mehta’s Water, Javed supported me a lot. In fact he liked the look so much that he did not want me to grow my hair again. I felt liberated. It’s not easy to explain in words. Only a woman who has dared to be bald can fathom what one goes through. It’s a pleasurable experience that helps in self-discovery.

— Shabana Azmi, actress

I went bald, because it was required for one of my films. The character I play is bald for a part of the movie. However, I am glad I did it. I have never enjoyed summer the way I have this year. I didn’t know being bald made the summers easier to bear.

— Salman Khan, actor

Gorgeous Indian super model Persis Khambatta became the talk of the town when she shaved her head for a Star Trek episode. Protima Bedi and Nafisa Ali also sported a bald head in their times. More recently, actresses Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das redefined the bald and beautiful look for Deepa Mehta’s still-born film Water.

The late Amrish Puri donned a distinct bald crust that was capped by his trademark hat making him a characteristic but sophisticated individual. The ever-brilliant Anupam Kher was always distinguished right from the beginning due to his plain scab and the equally classy Paresh Rawal had put on a hairless dabble for many of his movies, Dilwale being the most noticeable. Hardly must it have crossed their minds back then that they were paving the way for the future resurgence which would witness the ‘balding’ saga that’s going to be rampant, to say the least.

However, when women shave their heads, many misconceptions flare up. Some say such women are promiscuous or ‘tom boys’ or plain rebellious. Some are even appaled and stunned at the bare essence of the woman without the traditional ornamentation. Should anyone be judged for what they decide to do to themselves in order to be more beautiful, unique or respectable?

But getting bald has now become a fashion gambol and it is fast gaining acceptance amongst celebrities. Filmmaker Denise Johnson said, “This is who I am. People either reject me outright or accept me totally for what I am. I have no concern of being judged. I don’t care.”

The bald’sters were needless to say; scoffed at initially and in Bollywood the clean-shaven look was plausibly restricted to the bad guys of the screen. Heroes generally didn’t opt for the polished plain-head look but just take a glance around and you will notice a radical change in the scenario. The lanky Aditya Panscholi had adorned the look in Musafir. Today’s top-most filmmaker and a fine actor back in the 70’s and 80’s Rakesh Roshan and his music director brother Rajesh Roshan are other candidates in the category. The witty ex-cricketer Vinod Kambli flared the bald get-up for a long-time and he had retained his shimmer for his acting attempt in Anarth. Now the latest buzz is that none other than Salman Khan has decided to slip into the ‘bald’ act for his forthcoming film produced by Sajid Nadiadwala.

Hollywood actors have always picked the clean shaven look as and when the opportunity surfaced; recently Colin Farrel played a bald villain in Daredevil and now the gifted Denzel Washington has decked out the same tread for his latest film The Inside Man. So if the Hollywood hunkies can go for the extreme then why not our very own desi counterparts? So they are now taking some bald steps And if their baldness clicks gold for their movies, who knows the rest of the stars will decide on to cut the black grass on their heads. After all this has been a Bollywood tradition. If one takes a jump, the others follow blindly.