What makes for a well-groomed millennial man? When the topic first came up in an ideation meet, city boy Ayushman Mitra’s name was the first one from the top of our heads that matched our ideas on it — sharply turned out, well put- together; simple and stylish. So when we dropped in at the Salt Lake residence of Ayushman — better known as Bobo for his fashion label, Bobo Calcutta — we were surprised to see him take only five minutes to get ready for the shoot.

“Grooming is all about taking care of yourself and feeling good. It’s a myth that it entails high- maintenance,” said Ayushman, an artist and a designer. We wanted to know more and sat down for a chat on why grooming is an essential part of the modern man to Ayushman being complimented on his “pornstache” at his debut at the Lakme Fashion Week 2018. 

Why is grooming important?

I think because it has a lot to do with personal hygiene. There’s nothing more attractive than a nice-smelling, clean person. I do not see why someone cannot keep their nails clean or why someone should not have clean ankles or clean teeth. It’s low-maintenance. You don’t have to use a range of products or cosmetics or gel. It is very basic and you make sure that you’re your best self every day. 

What are the myths associated with men’s grooming?

I think the biggest myth is that grooming is high-maintenance. It is very basic. Even just a face wash, a shower gel, one nice perfume you want to wear, shower twice a day in this heat, take care of your facial hair and keep your hair clean. I am very low-maintenance myself. I don’t go to a fancy barbershop; I go to one near Beleghata where a haircut is worth Rs 150. If I am feeling fancy, once in a year, I’ll step into AN John or something like that.

When did you start making an effort to groom yourself and dress up?

I was in a boarding school — Mayo College for Boys — and obviously when you’re living with 60 people in your batch with a Mayo Girls’ nearby, you like attention, especially during socials and fetes. So the idea of competition or grooming yourself to get female attention first or the first letter or the first girl gives you that little bit of push to clean up. And the idea of appearance has always mattered to me because I am an artist, so everything looking good was always very important. Having my shoes polished, the collar of the shirt white and crisp.... So my boarding school has got a lot to do with my grooming actually.

How did conventional ideas of how a man should look like affect you?

During my growing up years in the 2000s is when the term “metrosexual” came about. Saif Ali Khan with his pink shirt, Hrithik Roshan’s torso and the entire idea of Bollywood men getting their hair and physique right, and the Karan Johar school of cinema inspired men to have “brands” in their wardrobes. Being in an all-boys’ school, there was this kind of acceptance on a mass level. Pink was no longer a colour for women and it was fine to have your hair gelled and styled in a particular way.

From 2000 to 2018, the lines have been blurred, and me obviously, being queer, I use my dressing as almost like a political agenda to try hard to prove a point where it would start a conversation, even with one aunty, who could be apprehensive about the word “queer”. It has happened at home too when earlier, my dad would be like, ‘Are you sure you’ll wear that outside?’

I pick up so many things from the women’s section of various brands. For example, what I wore on the runway to take my bow during my Lakme Fashion Week showing was a women’s jersey from Scotch & Soda. So now my family realises that if I am comfortable in it, I don’t care what people say about it.

On the other hand, there will be people, like my brother, who will be fine with wearing only that one polo or straight-fit jeans, or a pair of black corduroys and other basics. The idea is to push only if you want to push. Grooming is important but you have to stick to your gut and personality. Two of my very good friends, who are heterosexual, are some of the best well-groomed men I know. They have inspired my style in a big way. I think it’s time to discuss grooming as something that blurs gender definitions, like it should.

How do you think grooming helps a man stand out in the crowd?

If I see somebody at a party for the first time, there’s at least a conversation in my circle of friends about the man and men do take notice. I think people really appreciate the idea of someone putting in an effort before leaving their house, men and women alike. Most people I know do that because being well-groomed just makes them feel good and confident.

Has the idea of the metrosexual man have any bearing on a millennial?

I think it’s redundant, to be very honest. The entire idea of how it began — defining how a metrosexual man should stick to a certain palette of colours, should shave their chests... it was constricting a lot of men, in a way that a lot of queer men who were ready to come out took refuge behind this word — a bubble that is neither this side nor that. The word is redundant now because the lines are completely blurred. Somebody like a Jared Leto or a Ranveer Singh, the kind of work that Gucci is doing or even in Indian fashion, I think lines have been completely wiped out and grooming, fashion and aesthetics have all become forms of personal protest for the self and to stand by what you believe in. I have a problem with the word “metrosexuality”.

I think a man who wants to take care of himself should be able to take care of himself, irrespective of his sexuality. He shouldn’t have to worry about what others are thinking.