After an alcoholic in Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara, a con artist in Kashmora and a comical gangster in Junga, director Gokul is back, and this time, his protagonist is in a much more mainstream profession. The filmmaker is teaming up with RJ Balaji for Singapore Saloon, in which the latter plays a hairstylist.
“I already had the story of someone working in a barber shop, and the idea took proper shape when I met a hairstylist who worked on the sets of Kaashmora. He is a stylish chap whose attitude and attire attracted me. He loves his job, and I based my protagonist on him. Similarly, how we present ourselves is important and the hairstylists’ role in it is paramount,” says Gokul.
“Our dreams and ambitions keep changing over time, but what if an eight-year-old boy aspires to become a hairstylist? Once upon a time, it used to be a family profession. but now it has become a high-profile job; there are special courses for it, and the one who inspired me to make this film is earning lakhs every month. More than that, every person needs hope to jump from one stage of life to another. That’s something the film talks about in my style.”
Given how each of your films is in a different genre, what defines your style?
Having no style is my style (laughs). I wonder if I should have just stuck to similar stories and I would’ve been known for a particular style of films. But it doesn’t excite me to do the same story again. Like the famous Chandrababu song, not everyone who is intelligent wins, and not everyone who has won is intelligent. Singapore Saloon is a favourite film of mine to date because of the miracles that happened behind the scenes. I had a scene in the rain and for that, I needed lorries of water to make a dry, long stretch of tarmac look wet. The permission to shoot was after 10 pm and it rained precisely till 8:30 pm and stopped. It feels like a lot of positive things fell into place for this film to happen.
A still from ‘Singapore Saloon’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
RJ Balaji’s films, starring him in the lead role, have been mostly with his close associates. Only recently, he has started working with new collaborators. Tell us about this collaboration?
Every protagonist of mine will have their own characteristics that I take an effort to script. That said, we have to take other aspects, such as the film’s business, into consideration. Isari Ganesh sir really liked the story and this is one of the most expensive films for Balaji. The story itself is about an ordinary man fighting against the odds, and so, I needed an artist without an image or the need for heroism. It’s very different from what he has done in his previous films.
Apart from the lead star, all your films also have senior actors in well-etched roles; like Jayaprakash in Rowthiram, Pasupathy in Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara or Vivek in Kaashmora. How do you come up with such supporting characters?
It’s actually easier to mould new actors. But in Singapore Saloon, we have around 15 such seasoned actors. When we decided on an audio launch, we realised just our cast list would be a long one. I invited only Vijay Sethupathi because of how close he is to me. I can’t wait to see how the audience reacts to the scenes featuring Sathyaraj sir and Robo Shankar.
As far as writing characters is concerned, it comes down to creativity. For example, in Idharkuthane..., I came up with the ‘annachi sugar patient’ trope for Pasupathy’s character. That opened up a whole new set of possible situations to write. My films are performance-based; that’s why actors find working with me to be tough, but love me after seeing the final output.
Working with someone like Sathyaraj sir showed me the layers of acting a seasoned actor brings to the table. Every time I see the film, there’s a nuance in some scene that he surprises me with. Even with decades of experience, he asks me like a child how his character should be. He has his own style and we know how iconic his ‘Ennama kannu’ is. But his character here is different and to accept it takes trust. Similarly, Balaji’s character, I believe, will make the audience talk about his acting skills.
A still from the sets of ‘Singapore Saloon’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Your protagonists are always either over-the-top characters (Idharkuthane..., Kaashmora, Junga), or silent and intense (Rowthiram, Singapore Saloon). Are they intentionally-written traits?
It depends on the story, just like how our reactions are based on the circumstances. If you trash talk Sumaar Moonji Kumar (Vijay Sethupathi’s character from Idharkuthane...), he’d probably go, “Enna thalaiva, appadi ah solreenga enna pathi?” Given that he tortures the girl he loves, he could have become an uncouth character, but the audience likes him because he’s innocent. That’s a characterisation which is different from Rowthiram’s Jiiva character who is hot-headed.
Those who trash talk a lot will never raise their hand, and those who would strike won’t waste time talking. Many felt Sendrayan’s character in Rowthiramdidn’t work well but I had visited jails to analyse lots of people; those in petty cases are usually well-built, and it’s the slim ones who are booked for murders. Kaashmora is a fraud, so he has to be a loudmouth and Junga is a miser and that’s why even his moustache is small. The characterisation extends to even the look and attire.
I sometimes feel comedy isn’t valued much these days, unlike taking a gun and doing berserk in the climax. Vadivelu sir, for example, is an excellent performer who can emote so well. But we don’t see him for that. Comedy can’t stand on its own and only when emotions are added to it, it works. Love Today is a perfect example of this. Similarly, my film also has a wow factor at the end that I don’t want to reveal now. Another surprise is there’s a cameo featuring a star which we haven’t revealed yet; I believe these factors will elevate the film to another level.
Is Corona Kumar still on the cards? At the audio launch, Vijay Sethupathi asked you to come up with a script featuring him and Sathyaraj. Will that materialise too?
My next film isCorona Kumarand it will be the end of the comical cycle I embarked on. It belongs to the Idharkuthane... universe but will be ten times more fun. Currently, I’m not sure who will play the lead in it. I cannot do a film in which both Sathyaraj sir and Vijay Sethupathi are heroes, but they both can be villains in a film. When such actors are playing the antagonists, who could play the hero? So it will probably be the story of two villains. I have to discuss it with Vijay (Sethupathi), so let’s see how it goes. I’m already in talks with him for another story as well as one with Santhanam. Vadivelu sir was supposed to do Vivek sir’s role in Kaashmora but it didn’t work out... I would love to work with him as well.
Singapore Saloon is slated to release this Friday
