76. Singapore Saloon; movie review

 

SINGAPORE SALOON

Cert 12A

135 mins

BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, suicide references

Who knew there could be a lot of action and family drama around an ambition to be a barber?

Singapore Saloon traces the story of mischievous kids in a poor village to fancy locks being prepared for dancers in a national TV show.

In the meantime, there is a natural disaster, failed relationships, a suicide threat and a thousand parrots.

At the centre of it all is Kathir (RJ Balaji), a young man who wants to prove that cutting hair can be a lucrative and worthwhile profession.

Gokul's film begins charmingly with two innocent but impish best friends searching for love.

Young Kathir (Videsh Anand) is unlucky with the girls but finds an unlikely ally in the local kindly barber (Lal).

It's an entrancing build-up - meanwhile, we are aware of the opening scenes in which an adult, Kathir, is preparing to kill himself in a fancy salon.

Thus, the story plays out of how he reached the end of his tether.

The obstacles before a young man trying to create a career and find love are engaging enough, but the film goes off-piste with the impact of Kathir's miserly drunken father-in-law (Sathyaraj).

This is meant to be funny, but I found the character to be a combination of dim, irritating, and rather sad, and unfortunately, the distraction goes on and on.

Then, the late connection in the movie with the dance show is a bit odd.

Singapore Saloon is not a terrible film but not a memorable one. In fact, I doubt it will rest in my mind much beyond next week.

Reasons to watch: Easygoing comedy

Reasons to avoid: Not enough laughs

Laughs: Chuckles rather than laughs

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? Arguably the most famous barber in India is Bengaluru's Ramesh Babu. He is known as the ‘billionaire barber’ and owns around 400 luxury cars, including Rolls Royces, Mercedes Maybach, Range Rovers and Bentleys.

The final word. RJ Balaji: "I have either directed myself as a lead or worked with one-film-old filmmakers as a lead. But Gokul sir, who has worked with names like Vijay Sethupathi and Karthi, was an entirely different game. He has redefined my idea of good acting and has even changed the way I face the camera." Cinema Express

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