Why the rural barbershop gives filmmakers ample scope for mis-en-scene

Being centres of public assembly, more often in rural contexts, haircutting saloons have always featured in quintessential montages that depict the spreading of news

An important sequence in Madhu C Narayanan’s Kumbalangi Nights, the 2019 film that freshly awakened people to Malayalam cinema’s sublime thrills, plays out in a barbershop. The protagonist Bobby (Shane Nigam) drags his elder brother Saji to meet the barber Shammy (Fahadh Faasil), who is his girlfriend Baby's brother-in-law. Shammy is the type of manly man who is obsessed with the anatomy of his moustache, while Saji has to be reminded to run a comb through his hair. Inside the shop, where everything is an intimidating shade of red, Saji ends up asking for Bobby to be given a shave instead