The good looking men of the Punjab

Call me biased, but seriously, I think the Sikhs are a group of very, very good looking men :-) The two photos below are from the Sees Ganj Gurudwara in Old Delhi.

Broad shouldered, tall, and rugged, with the turbans adding drama to their faces. What's not to like? :)

And they age wonderfully well, their faces still reflecting a zest and joie de vivre that is famously celebrated in their songs and dance.

Have you seen a bhangda dance? The sheer energy of it? It's impossible to not enjoy it. Originally a harvest dance only done by men, these days women do it as well.

Photo from Punjabi Music World

Bhangra is popular wherever there is a Punjabi diaspora. In both the UK as well as the USA, there are several dance groups, with fiercely contested competitions. The video below is of an entire ensemble, with both male and female performers at a competition. 

Bollywood is full of Punjabis. The iconic good-looking boy from Punjab was Dharmendra, who  (you will agree after you see the photo below) was quite something. His was the sort of face that could make staid matrons forget themselves :)

Strangely for a Punjabi though, Dharmendra couldn't dance. He produced some strapping sons, all of whom also made it to the movies. They couldn't dance either.

Much before Dharmendra, there were several legendary good-looking Punjabis in Bollywood. The Kapoor clan started with the dashing Prithviraj....

...and moved on to produce Shashi Kapoor with the gorgeous eyelashes.

Apart from the Kapoors, there were the Anands, the Malhotras, the Sahnis and the Chopras. Some of them made it to the movies was because they had very fair skin (in India that's a great substitute for good looks). Some made it because they were more romantic than rugged, and that's what the audience wanted at that time. And some made it, I'll never understand why :)

The Punjabi guy that didn't quite make it to the Bollywood super-star league was Kabir Bedi. A seriously handsome man, he managed to make the crossover to Italian television and to Hollywood instead (remember the  turbanned villain in Octopussy?).

Among modern Bollywood heroes, Akshay Kumar is from the Punjab and pretty good-looking. I'm not sure who else deserves to be in my Hall of Fame :) So your nominations are welcome!!