Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, George Clooney in One Fine Day, Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, Colin Firth in Bridget Jones’ Diary, Pierce Brosnan in The Thomas Crown Affair – what do they have in common?

Apart from being drop dead gorgeous, that is?

They are clean shaven, with their face as smooth as a baby’s bottom.

Let’s come closer to home in Bollywood! Big B in Kabhi Kabhi, Dev Anand in Johnny Mera Naam, SRK in Kal Ho Naa Ho, Ajay Devgan in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, the loafers played by Aamir and Salman in Andaz Apna Apna – what do they have in common? Apart from being the darlings of crores of Indians? They are ‘chikne’ or clean shaven.

The word ‘chikna’ (literally meaning smooth) is the Hindi equivalent of the milquetoast. ‘Convent boys’, my dad says they used to be called.

Let me tell you a story about how some slovenly behavior turned into the biggest disaster of a man’s life.

Raj was a dear man. Well mannered, soft spoken, chivalrous, courteous – his list of qualities went on and on. But they came with a drawback. A big drawback! He was taken for granted by everyone, even his friends and family. People were used to depending on him.  He would brave any fire for his friends never thinking about himself.

One of Raj’s many qualities was that he was always well dressed, and clean shaven.

No one can tolerate perfection, especially when it is seen in others.

Raj was ridiculed for being well groomed all the time, especially in college. His friends were a bunch of bums who hung out in unwashed clothes, hardly ever bothering to shave. And Raj, with his clean goody goody looks got on their nerves. Guys called him ‘chikna’ and laughed.

The girls felt safe with Raj, but they were at an age when danger was more attractive.

Raj breezed into a great job and built a successful career.

His friends, who continued to be slovenly even after university, hadn’t changed much. Their sloth extended into an overall lazy attitude. They cut corners at work, didn’t give 100% to what they did. And always went around with uncouth stubbles.

Rita was a girl who was engaged to Raj’s best friend Sam. Raj secretly loved her, but never expressed his feelings openly.

Sam was a daredevil who had seemed rakishly handsome and irresistible in college. But he never changed and Rita was having doubts about him. He came to her cousin’s wedding with a two day stubble, and had a beard when he came to meet her father. She always made excuses for him, and asked him why he couldn’t be more like Raj! This became a sore point between them, so much so that Sam started being even more lazy, and made it a point not to shave just to annoy Rita.

The big day dawned – the day of Sam and Rita’s wedding!

There she was in the mandap, dressed to the nines, wearing an expensive outfit, having spent thousands at a spa to make herself pretty for her husband.

And he entered, the man of her dreams.

He parted the sehra, and Rita was shocked to see he hadn’t shaved.

Her eyes filled with tears, and she was ready to scream.

Raj came to the rescue. He never traveled without a shaving kit. He ran to his car and got it for Sam, and urged Sam to use a fresh blade to shave quickly to please his bride. Sam just smirked and refused.

By this time, Rita had had enough.

She asked the pandit to start reading the mantras, lifted her arms and put the garland around Raj’s neck.

Everyone stared with their mouths hanging open. There was nothing to be said.

Overjoyed, Raj took Rita in his arms – and they lived happily ever after!

What happened to Sam, you ask? He had a breakdown and now manages the Gillette counter at the local gas station. He can be found scratching his face, pulling at his stubble. Kids and dogs steer clear of him.

Moral of the story? If you have a smooth shave, the young lovelies will drool over you, the aunties will trust you with their girls, and foggy old gentlemen will believe you are a ‘real’ man.

Hey, if beauty is skin deep, if women can be shamelessly judged for not being fair enough, or not being thin enough, why should a man not be expected to be clean shaven?

Being well groomed may not be a sufficient condition for being a gentleman, but it is a necessary condition. Absolutely!!

This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette.