By Ruchika Kher

Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS) Call them farsighted, but many Bollywood actors are putting on glasses these days to be in character. Never mind if it makes them look less glamorous on screen.

Heartthrob John Abraham is the latest to sport the bespectacled look for his new film and his women fans are loving it. He has donned the look of a geek in "Jhootha Hi Sahi", directed by Abbas Tyrewala, and wears black broad-rimmed circular spectacles.

"This is a side to John that no one has seen. He's painfully ordinary in speech, body language and clothes. He wears thick glasses and can't look straight into anyone's eyes," Tyrewala has said.

Pakhi, John's co-star in the film, told IANS: "It was quite interesting to think how John, who is among the best looking men in Asia, would play a guy who has the most average looks. But he did it. Believe it or not, within five minutes of the film, you will forget you are watching John Abraham."

Generally admired for his rough-and-tough appearance, audiences are warming up to his new avatar.

"I simply love John in specs. He is looking so sweet and innocent, it's completely suiting him," Vrinda Shah, a college student and a self-proclaimed John fan, told IANS.

Leena Hiranandani, a 23-year-old advertising professional, said: "The specs are giving some substance to John's character. It's different from what we have usually seen him in, so it is nice to see him do something different."

While a lot of stars would never be caught wearing specs in public, they don't mind donning the same to add to their character on screen.

This year many actors sported glasses in their films, including Uday Chopra, who played the role of a nerd in the romantic comedy "Pyaar Impossible" alongside Priyanka Chopra.

Ranbir Kapoor looked mature and dashing in his thin-rimmed glasses, and Amitabh Bachchan put spectacles on to play the protagonist in "Rann".

"Glasses are something that add a lot of character to a person's personality and that's why they are so popular. In fact, there are people who don't have a weak eyesight but they still wear specs for style. It's a fashion trend that goes up and down but never goes out," Kunal Rawal, who designed Abhay Deol's look in "Aisha", told IANS.

In the last decade, many actors and actresses have flaunted glasses on celluloid to define their characters. In the 2001 thriller "Kasoor", Aftab Shivdasani sported specs to complete his look of a killer and did so again for his role of a doctor in the 2006 marital drama "Ankahee".

In 2003, heartthrob Hrithik Roshan used glasses to complete his look of a mentally slow boy in sci-fi film "Koi Mil Gaya" and the same year gorgeous Preity Zinta made a style statement with her bespectacled look in the hit film "Kal Ho Naa Ho". In fact, her broad-rimmed glasses were quite a rage.

Action star Akshay Kumar also experimented with glasses in "Jaan-E-Mann". However, neither the look nor the film could create any buzz at the box office.

The same year Vivek Oberoi too donned glasses to look like the young and hip writer in "Home Delivery: Aapko Ghar Tak".

Bollywood's king Shah Rukh Khan was not far behind -- he too added the spectacle magic to his avatar of a simple man in "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". The actor had earlier used specs for his role in "Baazigar".

Last year while Abhishek Bachchan flaunted spectacles in "Paa", where he played a young politician, Kareena Kapoor wore thick glasses to fit the role of a doctor in the hugely successful "3 idiots".

Stylist Ranjunee Chakma said: "Everyone follows trend and hadn't specs come in fashion, no one would have experimented so much."

It seems specs will never go out of fashion.