PIX: Different Avatars of The Filmi Moustache

Bollywood has long banished facial hair for its leading men.

But carefully styled moustaches make periodic appearances onscreen, like Ranbir Kapoor's endearing character in Anurag Basu's Barfi!.

Here's looking at the different kinds of moustaches that Bollywood heroes have sported over the years!

With his natural swagger and a moustache to match, Akshay Kumar holds court in Prabhu Deva's superhit Rowdy Rathore that released earlier this year.

Shah Rukh Khan plays the shy, introverted Suri Sahni with relative ease, armed with a triangle moustache and thick glasses.

Rani Mukerji lends her bubbly charm to her character's alter ego Veer, a Sikh boy of modest frame and a thin moustache, in her 2009 film Dil Bole Hadippa.

Thespian Makrand Deshpande keeps Swades leading man Mohan company as he travels to his nanny's village and takes in the sights of the Indian countryside.

His moustache reflects his role as a freewheeling philosopher.

Sanjay Dutt plays the ruthless killer Billa in Sanjay Gupta's 2004 thriller Musafir.

He lends a stylish edge to his appearance with his rapper moustache.

Amitabh Bachchan plays the royal guard who's caught in a time warp in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya.

His salt and pepper beard and moustache add a realistic old world charm to his character.

Aamir Khan's 2005 biopic saw him playing Mangal Pandey.

His connoisseur moustache looks strikingly similar to the freedom fighter.

Salman Khan plays Suryavanshi Raj Kumar Vikram Singh, a prince of the Sun dynasty (curiously modelled after the Norse god Thor) in the 1992 film Suryavanshi.

In one of his most bizarre appearances ever, Salman dons a blonde wig and moustache for the role.

Anil Kapoor, the original moustache man, has taken to styling his facial hair according to the characters he plays.

In Subhash Ghai's revenge drama Ram Lakhan, he plays Lakhan, the good-for-nothing younger brother of a virtuous cop. His  moustache adds a rougish dimension to his colourful character.

Veteran actor Naseerudin Shah plays the arrogant subedaar (tax collector) in Ketan Mehta's 1987 film Mirch Masala.

His handlebar moustache lends authenticity to his character.

One of the many highlights of Ramesh Sippy's Sholay is the sequence where the jailor marches into prison and interacts with the petty criminals housed there.

His moustache is the first indicator of the hilarity that follows.