IN THE YEAR 2000, the Hrithik Roshan-starrer Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai had just released, and the actor had become the mascot of a new kind of ‘machoness’ for a multitude of Indian women. According to Roshan himself, he got 30,000 proposals after the film released. Apparently, women garlanded his portrait at Kali temples and pleaded with bemused priests to marry them to his photograph.
“Has India finally found the elusive, mythical NEW MAN, and is his surname Roshan?” Shobhaa De asked in the opening story of our cover package, In Search of the Sexy Man (April 30, 2000). “Is Hrithik the sole reason why countless callow fellows from Kanpur to Kanyakumari have suddenly started going to the local akhadas and toning up those tired abs?” De attributed the “Hrithik Roshan magic” to a combination of “strutting, swaggering masculinity” and a “heart-breaking vulnerability”.
THE WEEK also commissioned a survey by TN Sofre Mode in which 72 per cent of the 1,300 men and women polled agreed that ‘macho’ was the true meaning of manhood. Sixty-five per cent of the female respondents wanted to marry a macho man and 71 per cent of the men polled wanted to be seen as macho. So what exactly did being macho entail? Seventy-three per cent of the respondents found a macho man to be very friendly and outgoing, 67 per cent found them to be bold and courageous and 87 per cent found them to be caring and gentle. Or, as actor and model Milind Soman put it: “A macho man is one with complete manliness in looks, speech and expression.”
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Denne historien er fra December 29, 2019-utgaven av THE WEEK.
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A golden girl
One of India's most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
The interest in wine is growing delightfully in India
The renowned British wine writer and television presenter Jancis Robinson, 74, recently came to Delhi and Mumbai to reacquaint herself with India's wine industry. This was the Robinson's fourth visit to India; the last one was seven years ago. On this trip, Robinson and her husband, restaurateur Nicholas Lander, were hosted by the Taj Hotels and Sonal Holland, India's only Master of Wine.
United in the states
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COVER DRIVE
Usage-driven motor insurance policies offer several benefits
GDP as the only measure of progress is illogical
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India is not a controlling big brother
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Comrade with no foes
Lal Salaam, Comrade Yechury-you were quite a guy!
Pinning down saffron
In her first political bout, Vinesh Phogat rides on the anti-BJP sentiment across Haryana
MAKE IN MANIPUR
Home-made rockets and weapons from across the border are escalating the conflict
SAHEB LOSES STEAM
Coalition dynamics and poor electoral prospects continue to diminish Ajit Pawar's political stock