IAF officer Abhinandan’s gunslinger is now iconic, and trending

Move over Bollywood slogan merchandise. If there’s anything that’s trending in India right now, it is the gunslinger. The special style of grooming one’s moustache thick and bushy has been in existence for years, but its resurgence in the country must be attributed to the hero of the hour, Indian Air Force officer Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

With his return to India from Pakistan captivity, the youth of the country rushed to salons to get their beard and moustaches trimmed like that of the valiant officer.

Call it fashion frenzy or a way to celebrate the braveheart, one thing is evident — the macho mooch and the iconic mutton chop beard is here to stay.

The past few days have seen Twitter being flooded with pictures of people trying to look like the IAF pilot.

In fact, news agency ANI shared a post of a Bengaluru man, Mohammed Chand, emulating officer Abhinandan, while dubbing him a hero. Dairy cooperative Amul also came up with an ad film celebrating the officer’s moustache in its signature campaign “Mooch nahi toh kuch nahi”.

Both tweet threads have gone viral since and men from across India are now sharing images of themselves sporting the thick gunslinger and mutton chop beard.

We’re sharing below a few of our favourites:

pic.twitter.com/ftWSQaKeIA

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— अनुज द्विवेदी, (अर्जुन) (@AnujDwivedi10) March 3, 2019

Wing Commander #AbhinandanVarthaman's moustache style getting popular. A Bengaluru local Mohammed Chand says,' I'm his fan, we follow him. I like his style. He is the real hero; I'm happy.' pic.twitter.com/cT7QGXntMs — ANI (@ANI) March 3, 2019

My Amul Mooch! for Abhinandan ji pic.twitter.com/0GHCCwuziu

— Saurabh Kapoor (@eyefai) March 2, 2019

pic.twitter.com/20s4Djnoxg — Himalayan Monk(Amol) (@Himalayan_Monk) March 2, 2019

Inspired by #AbhinandanVarthaman ji#AbhinandanMoustache#moochpic.twitter.com/50tWYuTIJh

— ulhas kshirsagar (@ulhasksagar) March 4, 2019

pic.twitter.com/dsREDxxkgC — farrah raja (@farrahraja) March 2, 2019

This moustache has separate fan base — Rohan Thakur (@baelessPurush) March 3, 2019

pic.twitter.com/YfsAfSum3l — AVISHEK