Rustic Romeos

In fact, while Bollywood is brimming with metrosexual men like John Abraham, Arjun Rampal, Saif Ali Khan and Fardeen Khan, the all Tamilian hero is content projecting his masculinity through facial and chest hair, lungis (what designer Jean Paul Gaultier famously rephrased as ‘men in skirts’), action stunts, and stylish gestures.

And strangely enough, it works.

So when the general rule is that a hero has to be handsome, what makes Kollywood (a combination of Kodambakkam and Hollywood, the former being a Chennai locality where most of the film studios are located) buck the trend? ‘‘Our people are more comfortable with darker skin,’’ says director Balu Mahendra, who has Dhanush in his forthcoming film, Adu Oru Kanaa Kaalam. ‘‘Rajnikant is handsome in a rustic way, almost like Omar Sharif. If you take 100 boys, only four or five would be termed handsome. The rest would be like Dhanush. Whereas earlier these men would realise their dreams through an actor like Kamal Haasan, now they’d rather have someone like themselves and say, ‘That’s me’.’’

Of course, the soft-spoken Dhanush is still trying to figure out what women see in him. ‘‘I keep wondering if something is wrong with these Chennai girls,’’ he shrugs.

And while his latest film Pudhukottailirunthu Saravanan has pretty steamy shots, this unlikely heart-throb claims he is yet to visit a disco (‘‘I’m hoping a shoot takes place in one’’).

Rajiv Menon, another director who can’t stop raving about Dhanush, says different-looking heroes have everything to do with vernacular cinema being the expression of vernacular identity. ‘‘Initially films catered to the upper middle class and the middle class, but as the backward classes came to the fore, thanks to the Dravidian movement, things changed.’’

It’s way simpler than that, counters film-maker and writer T Rajendar, Silambarasan’s father. For him, it’s masculinity that pushes the envelope. ‘‘The tastes of the front benchers will never change,’’ he says, which is why his son has been trained to be an action hero who brandishes a cycle chain instead of roses!

Son ‘Simbu’ has also learnt to dance like Chiranjeevi and Haasan, to complete the equation, though one wonders if there is some truth to the rumours of him getting a face job in Australia.

Some directors insist that the hero’s looks are not so important as long as the script is good. Perhaps that’s why wannabes like Bharatiraja’s son Manoj (his debut with Riya Sen was a disaster) bank on their fathers/brothers/uncles to work a few miracles. (Bharatiraja has a reputation for making heroes out of non-lookers like Bhagyaraj.)

Dhanush has his director brother Selvaraghavan backing him. Dushyant is hoping for some of his grandfather’s (Sivaji Ganesan’s) charisma, while director-turned star SJ Suryah (of Khushi fame) just wants to act. It doesn’t matter if popular heroines like Jyotika initially refused to be paired with him!

Like good looks, washboard abs are not a priority, at least not in Kollywood. While a few like Vikram maintain their physique, most heroes go to seed once they become popular. Strangely enough, this is not the case with the image-conscious Hyderabad heroes—Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Pavan Kalyan and others.

In Kerala, being on the heavier side is a general trend, ‘‘more wholesome’’, as some critics put it. ‘‘I don’t think the concept of beauty is valid in the film industry and this is true for Bollywood too,’’ says director Khalid Mohammed, who had hot bod Rampal in his latest film, Tehzeeb. ‘‘Amitabh Bachchan is not conventional looking, but he is tall and has a voice to die for. Shah Rukh Khan has lovely dimples and hair. And Ajay Devgan, a classic example, has winning assets like his voice and eyes.’’

Bollywood producer Vashu Bhagnani introduced Southie sizzler R Madhavan in Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein and has also worked with Rampal in Deewanapan. He refers to the former as an actor while Rampal gets clubbed in the hero category.

‘‘The only flip side of signing Kollywood heroes in a Bollywood film is that their accent is not at par. They might not be good lookers but they are good actors.’’ However, Bhagnani does admit that Bollywood trade will any day lap up a Rampal project—irrespective of the fact that he hasn’t given a single hit—than a Madhavan film, despite the latter’s superstar status down south. ‘‘That’s the sad part. Even when I signed Maddy, people told me to reconsider. Arjun has got so many chances, it’s high time Madhavan got another chance,’’ adds Bhagnani.

Another characteristic that South heroes exhibit is that they are nimble on their toes. Most at least. According to sociologist Shiv Vishwanathan, ‘‘There is an openness of the body not matched by their counterparts in the North.’’

Prabhu Deva, another unconventional looker who wins over fans with his dance moves, is a perfect example. As is Silambarasan, who has been dancing in films right from the cradle!

Commenting on the trend for different-looking heroes, fashion choreographer Prasad Bidappa says, ‘‘We are more sophisticated in the South. For us, beauty is not skin deep, we look at the talent too. Our acceptance of the way our actors look is an obvious sign of our maturity.’’

Some fashion commentators attribute the Southern heroes’ distinct looks to the fact that we don’t have a beauty factory like in the North. Looks don’t matter, feels Vishwanathan.

In fact, according to him, the affability of heroism is the ideal of an equal society. ‘‘In the South, the political hero like MG Ramachandran was a mythical figure, but the film hero was the real hero. In the North, actors have to be picture perfect, whereas in the South, they are marginal, different, eccentric; they break stereotypes.’’

So while Dhanush’s dark-skinned complexion is normal in this part of the world, what sets heroes like him apart is the willingness to try anything, to extend themselves. As Dhanush puts it, ‘‘I just look like Bruce Lee, with 5-10 per cent of the talent. I don’t mind playing anything, even a beggar.’’