Chandigarh, Aug 2 - Bollywood's newest trend to go in for turbaned and bearded heroes is to the liking of Sikh religious leaders, who feel it is helping popularise the look and preventing young Sikhs from getting their hair cut.

Even the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh body, is happy at the portrayal even though some of the films have run into small controversies with the community.

Top male actors Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and now Saif Ali Khan have played Sikh characters in recent Hindi films. Young actor Ranbir Kapoor, whose mother Neetu Singh comes from a Sikh family, will follow suit soon in Shimit Amin's 'Rocket Singh'.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar told IANS: 'Sikhs have earned name and fame all across the world in almost all the fields like sports, politics, cinema and business. It is all due to their enterprising nature, right attitude, hard work and honesty.

'Bollywood is just trying to cash on the image of a complete Sikh with beard and turban on his head. They are doing it to earn professional gains but we are happy. Now we want them to use real Sikh characters on the screen, someone who actually sports a turban and beard.'

The Sikh religion makes it mandatory for Sikh males to have the five 'Ks' -- 'Kada' (steel bangle), 'kirpan' (small dagger for defence), 'kesh' (long hair), 'kanga' (comb) and 'kachha' (short breeches/long under-garment).

'The portrayal (of Sikh heroes) has proved that Sikh men (with turban and beard) look very good. Otherwise, Bollywood directors and heroes wouldn't have taken this risk. Sikh youths are now less inclined to get their hair cut. The portrayal in films has helped them re-discover their identity,' pointed out Harmehtab Singh, a college student here.

The Sikh religion, founded by first Sikh guru Nanak Dev in the 15th century, is one of the youngest and most progressive religions in the world.

In Punjab, there used to be a trend among Hindu families to make the eldest son follow Sikhism.

Saif's first home-production 'Love Aaj Kal', which released Friday, shows him as a turbaned and bearded Sikh.

One of the biggest blockbusters of recent years 'Singh is Kinng' had Akshay Kumar as a turbaned Sikh protagonist throughout the film. Some Sikh bodies though did object to the way his beard was cut in the film.

Makkar felt that the election of Manmohan Singh as prime minister had also popularised the Sikh image.