The time: A Monsoon Afternoon. The place: Oxford Book Store, Barakhamba Road.
The motion: Picking up something to read for a next day flight to Mumbai. I select the curiously titled The Ugliness of The Indian Male, in which Delhi author Mukul Kesavan explores the physical beauty (or lack of it) of the nation's men. Kesavan's theory, is that Indian women are somewhat hot, whilst Indian men are somewhat not.
He points to Bollywood to prove this. In the looks department, our film heroes are zeros. The leading ladies, however, consist of an assortment of beauty pageant winners and models.
My assignment in Mumbai took me to the sets of the new Karan Johar production Dostana; currently shooting at Film City. And here, in the form of Priyanka Chopra, I came across first hand evidence of why Indian women are universally admired for their aestheticism. The male/female beauty imbalance can have serious implications for sex in the city. No wonder arranged marriage is still so in. Wow says the groom. Eeew shrieks the bride - utterly disappointed at the package standing in front of her. It's like beast and the beauty. A jodi of Rajpal Yadav and Deepika Padukone. Male ugliness is rampant. Pay attention guys. Highwaisted trousers are a big turn off. Lose them immedi ately And while you are at it, jettison the excess baggage from mummy's ghar ka khana. Oh, and lose the Tamil hero Moustache. Yanna rascala… mind it. It's not to say that male beauty does not exist in India. It does. Just not where you'd normally look for it.
Look to the nearest image of Krishna. This flute playing blue boy can enchant any gopi. There's also Arjun from the Mahabharata, well built and very handsome; wait till you see the things he can do with a bow and arrow. Is it only in the divine realm that non ugly men can be found? The answer to that is, no. Coming out of Studio 11, I encounter two handsome heroes.
The Krishna and Arjun of modern day India: John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan. And yes, it would seem, they are not exactly ugly Hurray, together they have saved the reputation of all Indian men.
And what looks they are getting from the girls. Perhaps these boys should be in burkhas, safe from the preying eyes of the female population.
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