Tattooing is another hype that is gaining ground in Mumbai, thanks to Bollywood, the resident film industry. According to a trend report, the concept of cool tattoos came through mainstream Bollywood movie celebrities, instead of an underground/alternative route. Tattoos are considered to be cool and a fashion accessory among the youth, although most of the time it is unacceptable to parents.
An example of the Bollywood influence is Sanjay Dutt, a popular actor, who has gotten 16 tattoos in recent times. There are many more who are inked, Saif Ali Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar, and Esha Deol are just a few. A large proportion of the youth agree that they are inspired by influential people in India like Bollywood artists, and models, while others simply use this medium to express themselves.
The fact is that most youth don’t get tattoos because it’s a piece of art, but because it’s a conversation piece, something that speaks about themselves, or they just want to be tagged as being “cool”. Most of them prefer simple designs, followed closely by natural and abstract designs. Very few go in for complex designs or those dedicated to something or someone.
Another interesting fact is that nearly 31% of them leave it up to the tattoo artist to choose what they should get.What are the favorite spots to get tattooed? Most of them get it on their arm, neck, waist, and ankle, basically places that are exposed. They want to be loud about their tattoo. Tattooing is done at the moment mainly by, but not limited to, the high income youth bracket. The cost of getting inked in the city is quite high, it ranges from Rs 800 to 2,500 for a square inch in black, while coloured ones cost even more. But the cost factor does not stop Gen Y from going ahead and expressing themselves, in fact since it’s for life, if they want one they should go ahead and get it!
