Though Bollywood has in the past shown Sikh characters without beards, Akshay's rationale was that a beard of a Sikh is one of the five sacred insignia of his religion.
However, veteran actor Om Puri had to forego the beard in SINGH IS KINNG for a valid reason. "Like Amit ji my face is allergic to beards. I get rashes from facial hair. So, I played the Sardar with all the other mandatory requirements except the beard!"