Rekha

The most striking and also the most constant thing about a star is his/her confidence. Everything else from hair to clothes to speech to style may change. What remains unchanged is self-assurance. What makes an actor a star is this confidence to stand in front of a nation and demand hero worship as if it were a birthright. Some get this confidence by consistently reinventing themselves. While others like to make no change in their trademark. They are stars in their own minds, too. They ooze oodles of confidence. Assured of their star status, they feel no need for any change of their image.

On the other hand, a hesitation to go the makeover way could also be the case. It takes loads of guts to change skins in tinsel town. With cut-throat competition, people wait around every corner for an opportunity to ridicule one another. A major makeover calls for considerable risk. In such a scenario, many might find it safer to stick to one single image that works rather than risk professional hara-kiri with whacko changes. Whatever the reason, Bollywood is full of icons that have remained unchanged over the years, but have experienced no loss in their star status. On the contrary, they have endeared themselves to the masses with their trademarks. A list of some of our favourites and their USPs (unique selling propositions).

SHAH RUKH KHAN: The Badshah. What has been different about him? Not much. Every movie, he looks the same. Every award ceremony, he wears the same black suit. His hair is still the same. His style is still the same. His stammer has left him but that’s another matter. He is still the overconfident old son of a gun that he was when he trotted into Bollywood with stars in his eyes. And today, because of his cool confidence, he is the star.

dev anand: Just one single thing has changed about him through the decades and the scores of films. The wrinkles. His unchanging style and image is one of the most loved ones in the history of Bollywood. “I love wearing hats and caps,” says the veteran actor, “and people love it too when I wear them.” He’s right. We have and always will love him the way he is with that knowing nod and the tilted cap. Or, is it the tilted head?

Rishi kapoor: Well, yeah, he’s religiously put on weight but that’s the Punjabi puttar’s tandoori chicken showing. The USP? Until recently, we don’t remember him not wearing a red or a yellow or some happy coloured sweatshirt. Ever!

Sushmita

rekha: The sultry queen of sophisticated seduction. You think Rekha, and you think perfection. Glittering sari perfection, dark glossy lipstick perfection, suggestive talk perfection, pouty perfection. The original sexy Indian woman, this.

Sushmita sen: Her sheer class is unchanged. No wild makeovers for this international beauty. She looks exactly the same as she did all those years ago when she won the Miss Universe crown. Only, more siliconed (self-admittedly), only more classy, if that’s possible.

usha uthup: The Kanjeevaram and the hugest red bindi, and the gajra falling on her shoulders. She’s like candy that comes in different colours! But the naughty old thing asks how she’s looking in every single show of hers. Will someone tell her she looks like a clone of herself?

bappi lahiri: Bappida. We’d know his voice anywhere. If there weren’t so many pirated versions, that is. But the thing about him is, you can copy his accent, you can copy his language. You can also copy his voice. What you cannot copy is his gold jewellery. And you wouldn’t want to, either. But that doesn’t change him, no sir!

Pooja Tolani