For better or worse, balding men are opting for hair transplants to feel good

A hair transplantation procedure involves removing follicles from a dense area of hair, such as the back of the head, and then implanting them on the affected area of the scalp. Photo: AFP

All that balding Indian television executive Athar Rasheed wanted was to look handsome and get married. But the 30-year-old's seemingly harmless hair transplant went fatally wrong.

Women have been judged on their appearance for millennia, but in an increasingly materialistic Indian society, men are also feeling pressure to look young and presentable for fear of losing their social standing.