Then there’s Rang De Basanti, which can claim to a more than a few of its own bhai-sexual moments — not only do Aamir Khan and his friends hang out shirtless in rough fields that set off their own rough and tough physiques, they also pick up the gun for each other and sacrifice their lives.

Not since Jai and Veeru, who — riding their scooter, singing Yeh dosti... — immortalised male friendship in Hindi cinema forever has Bollywood taken up male bonding with as much fervour.

These celluloid pals do not shy away from being emotionally intimate. It’s a trend that’s described as “bromance”, that is, friendship between brothers, or two heterosexual males or as a “male-ationship”. The metrosexuals typically bonded over hair gels and conduct their relationships with both their men pals and their women pals with equal new-age ease. On the other hand, there’s nothing easy about the retrosexual, like Shah Rukh Khan in Don — much like the angry young man of the Deewar and Zanjeer that he is moulded on, angst, fury and raging testosterone defines not just all his actions, but also his relationships.

The Bhai-sexual combines the two types and forms his own identity. He is, also, been hailed as a move away from the boy-girl romance, from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge to Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which has been a preoccupation with Bollywood over the last two decades.

“We’re finally moving away from the boy girl romances to explore and carve out newer themes and relationships in movies,” says box office analyst Komal Nahta. Culture watchers agree. “It’s an urban phenomenon. The changing times have brought in the culture of social cohesiveness.” Men are learning to enjoy each other’s company, something that comes easily to women. “Men have traditionally been taught how to compete with each other. Now, they are learning that they can simply have a good time,” says psychologist Jitender Nagpal. He attributes it to the breaking down of traditional masculine barriers.

... contd.