When the movie Titanic was released in 1997, it blew away all box office expectations. It stayed number one at the box office for 15 straight weeks and grossed over $600 million in the US alone and over $1 billion dollars worldwide. After its 3D release in 2012, it once again stole the box office and hearts of moviegoers alike, grossing about $2.185 billion, and is still a record holder as the second film to gross over $2 billion (with Avatar being the first.)
Titanic was a legendary film in its heyday, with the far reaching effects of the film felt even in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Did you know that, after illegal VHS copies of the Titanic full movie reached Afghanistan’s black market, a Titanic obsession swept the nation-with Titanic haircuts even becoming banned?
Titanic posters began appearing on house walls, large-sized vegetables were referred to as “Titanic Vegetables,” and boys were lining up by the dozens at their local barbershops to copy DiCaprio’s famous 90’s mushroom cut .
It’s only when Afghan boys began to watch Titanic and then copy Leonardo DiCaprio’s famous ‘do that the Taliban started to take notice. According to NBC News.com , Titanic and the Titanic haircut were considered a serious offense by the Taliban, and the arrests began to follow.
According to Today I Found Out, at least thirty barbers and countless teenage Afghan boys were arrested because of the Titanic haircut, with many others beaten and forced by the Taliban to shave off their DiCaprio mushroom cut.
Men starting wearing hats in public in an effort to disguise their DiCaprio hairdos, and a chain of “underground barbers” began offering the Titanic haircut on the sly-after hours and away from public view.
According to one barber, Ahmed, in an interview with MSNBC.com and published on NBC News.com , he was arrested twice for giving the infamous Titanic haircut.
Inquisitr readers: Did you know how much the Taliban hated the movie Titanic and Leonardo DiCaprio’s haircut? Do you still watch Titanic sometimes?
[Image by: cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com ]