I meet Gautham Vasudev Menon at his office on a very Gautham Menon-esque day. The sky is overcast and Alwarpet is on the cusp of rain. Dressed in a grey denim shirt neatly tucked into blue jeans, Gautham arrives on a Royal Enfield bike, his face wrapped in a scarf, exposing just his eyes — a look that reminds you of Victor (Arun Vijay) from Yennai Arindhaal . His latest movie, the Dhanush-starrer Enai Noki Paayum Thota (ENPT), roughly translates to: ‘The bullet coming my way’. But, its trailer has an interesting caption: ‘A bullet with my name on it’. One could argue that the bullet is an allegory on Gautham Menon, who has been carrying the weight of the loaded gun since 2016.
He agrees to do the interview amidst all the chaos surrounding its release. I ask if he can finally heave a sigh of relief, as he fields calls and answers messages. “Not at all. As we speak, I saw something that bothered me. But the content looks good...and not dated in that sense. ENPT is intense and compelling, and has some great music and performances.”
Tree of life
ENPT was initially slated for release in 2016, before it was bogged down by financial hiccups. Fans attacked him. Trolls took him for a ride. And his critics wrote him off. Gautham describes the past three years “tumultuous” and takes responsibility for whatever happened within his office.
By his own words, he’s a “victim of the business of cinema” and doesn’t intend to nitpick names involved in it. “It’s something personal and I don’t want to make it public. It may still be just bad management,” he says, taking every “wrong decision” in his stride.
Gautham has a unique filmmaking trait, exploring the voices inside his protagonist’s headspace, often misconstrued as voice-overs. What was his inner voice telling him when he went through that rough patch? “That voice has solely driven me till this point,” he sits up, “People tried to clamp down on my film. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, yes. But for that, you need to walk through darkness. In fact, the idea behind the song ‘Maruvarthai’ was based on that voice.”
- Gautham Menon will kick-start his next venture, an action drama with a new star, the announcement of which will be made soon. His highly anticipated Dhruva Natchathiram starring Vikram is on and the release date will be announced on September 6.
- His company is no longer associated with Nenjam Marapathillai , produced by Escape Artists. “I just set-up the meeting between Selvaraghavan and Madan. At that time, Ondraga Entertainment was started as an initiative to bring filmmakers together.”
- Netflix has signed a deal with four filmmakers — Gautham Menon, Vetri Maaran, Sudha Kongara and Vignesh Shivn. “All of us are directing a 28-minute segment on a common love theme.”
- Menon’s pet project, tentatively titled Ondraga , which brings together leading actors from Southern industries, is also in the works and he’s expected to start shooting next year.
He tried moving on, though, for he wasn’t allowed to carry on work. Between 2016 and 2019, he directed Dhruva Natchathiran and a couple of music videos, officially released on his YouTube channel. But the weight of ENPT did affect his creative process. “Something that largely took my mind off was a web series I directed. It’s fictional take on J Jayalalithaa madam and has come out really well,” he says, adding that the web series, titled Queen , is written by Reshma and has 11 episodes. Anything remotely creative, and Gautham is game for it. So, when he was offered the web series, he didn’t see it as a step back. “I might have been wary of the platform three years back. Because there was nothing creative happening on that front then.”
Comeback mode
The trailer for ENPT has once again put Gautham on the map. It does remind one of his Kaakha Kaakha , especially the way it depicts the various phases of Dhanush. Was it intentional on his part to pay homage to his own movie? “No, I had an idea to use a voice-over in the trailer, along with a set of lyrics that Karky had written. I sent it to my editor (Praveen Anthony) and it’s completely his vision,” he tells me.
ENPT marks Dhanush’s first collaboration with Gautham Menon, who seemed to have given a new dimension to the actor. “There wasn’t much discussion with Dhanush after he read the script. In fact, he called me and said, ‘I loved the way you set it up. When are we shooting it?’ That he’s a National Award winner shows on screen,” he says. However, the delay did cause a dent in his equation with Dhanush. “You want to put your arm around them and work. There was no scope for that to a large extent. But he did his job. That he did superbly.”
Dhanush in a scene from ‘ENPT’
The only difference of opinion Dhanush had was over the choice of a relatively new composer (Darbuka Siva of Kidaari and Nimir fame). Known for his frequent collaboration with Harris Jayaraj and AR Rahman, what convinced him to choose Siva? “It all boils down to good vibes. I felt that with Siva. We talked about music and our sensibilities matched, and he was on board.” And the decision paid off, for the songs, particularly ‘Maruvarthai’ and the recently-released ‘Hey Nijame’, have got a great response from fans.
Over the years, Gautham has been credited for a lot of things — his sensible portrayal of women, staging of scenes, smattering of English and so on. But he has been grossly under-appreciated for his songs, because there’s a certain level of screenwriting that goes into them. “Oh, a lot of writing goes behind my songs. I write everything in the scripting stage itself and I cannot go to a composer, asking for a ‘love’ song — whether it is Raja or Rahman,” he grins. Gautham gives the brief to his composers and explains the mood and feel of the song. Once the song takes shape, there is another round of writing, which, he says, is tedious. “I listen to the song on loop and write shots for every single line. In my scripts, the lines of the songs will be written as descriptions,” he explains, with an example of ‘Mannipaaya’ from Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa .
Nineteen years in the industry and as someone who is at the top of his game, I ask Gautham what he expects of ENPT ? Is it box-office success, critical acclaim or maybe a tinge of positivity? “Box-office numbers could help,” he laughs, adding, “Honestly, it’s the magic that I think I’ve created. Even if the audience finds it in 10 places, then it’s a win-win for me.”
Inside GVM’s world
Remember the scene in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu , where Raghavan records his thoughts in a dictaphone? That was Gautham Menon a decade ago, before he started writing his scripts on an iPad. And he’s unabashedly OCD about these little things, and the way he writes. Everything has changed, except his fascination for scripts that chronicles the hero’s journey. He is unperturbed by the criticism that his movies tread a common path. “When I write, I tend to follow this style. In the sense, I would like to know where the protagonist’s journey started and did he have a girlfriend at 15 and so on...It might not be pertinent to the script, but I like to get into his psyche,” he explains. But doesn’t that line of thought get tedious after a point? “Not for me. Each character is different in my head. Maybe you could say that they might come from the same strata of society.” He admits that the audience gets a sense of deja vu while watching a Gautham Menon film. But he makes it clear that he wants them to feel that way. “I look forward to watching a Mani Ratnam sir’s movie for his Mani-ness. As is the case for a Vetri Maaran sir or Bala. I would be disappointed if I don’t get to see those moments,” he adds.
Gautham Menon has signed a deal with Netflix for an upcoming anthology
The politics of cinema
Gautham believes that the brand ‘GVM’ is a farce and that it won’t fetch him work, even though he’s one of the respected filmmakers in Tamil cinema. Have the constant issues around the release of his movies made him feel like an outsider? “Generally, I feel I’m cast aside because of the kind of movies that I make. I’ve always tried making something nice and real. But yeah, I’ve never been bothered by this” Could it also be due to the fact that he’s a better filmmaker than someone who takes creative control and manages finances? “I wanted to take creative control because someone else is making money out of my content. The music produced by Darbuka Siva should be mine. This is not an egoistic approach, but I’m just being practical.”
Even after facing so many battles and having won some, what drives Gautham? “Good content,” he smiles, “It’s just that I can write something nice is what motivates me. The music I listen, the book I read, and the people I meet; these are some things that keeps me going.”
Take 5 with Gautham Menon
ENPT looks like a better made version of Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada ( AEM ), commented a user on YouTube. What’s your take?
It’s good, right? After all, they’re saying it’s a better version (laughs) . I need to worry only when they say it’s worse than AEM .
AEM would have still worked without Manjima Mohan’s backstory. Do you think filmmakers need to justify their characters?
No, I actually thought about it. I discussed with my team and we explored various angles. It was one moment where we thought: ‘Okay, maybe we should have a backstory’.
You are in a Gautham Menon movie, if there are at least two heroines and one dies eventually...
See, I have made 18 movies. That has happened only twice ( Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu and Yennai Arindhaal ). Come on, you have to give it to me (laughs) .
Why doesn’t DCP Raghavan wear a kada in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu , although Kamal Haasan was the reason you started wearing it?
I was working with someone who I consider a guru. I didn’t know how he would react, though he was very forthcoming throughout the shoot. It would have been really nice had Kamal sir worn it too.
I came across a blog that called you out for the problematic depiction of the LGBT community in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu , despite it being the first mainstream Tamil film to show a gay relationship.
The rape scene? It was done by a policeman who was trying to provoke a reaction. It’s neither his view nor mine. And I’m not homophobic. It was a weak moment and he wanted to exploit it. That’s all.
Published - September 03, 2019 05:09 pm IST
