Gautham Menon interview: 25 years in films, and how ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’ became a lesson in management

It is yet another episode in Gautham Vasudev Menon’s chequered career.

GVM — as he is popularly called — completes 25 years in the industry this February. Marking the occasion, the filmmaker has put together a list of 25 memorable songs from his filmography to showcase in a curated concert, aptly titled Yennodu Vaa Veedu Varaikkum. “I was drawn into cinema because of the songs in them. You can play any song from the 1950s or ‘60s, and I will tell you who the singer is, because my mother was so passionate about them,” he recalls.

This year, apart from writing and directing films, Gautham plans to organise a set of curated concerts. “I hope to drive conversation through these songs. I also wish to do a Mani Ratnam and Shankar retrospective soon, based on the memorable tracks in their work,” he reveals.

This passion for song and poetry has made the filmmaker work with the best musical talents, including composers Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, Karthik and Darbuka Siva. “If you’ve been to any of my film’s audio launches, it would have always been about the music and less about the speeches. They were all mini concerts, and I have been fascinated with the idea of putting out music like that. I wish I was a musician… I would have probably held on to a guitar and played; there is so much beautiful talent out there.” Showcasing this 25-track playlist (selected from among 80-plus songs in his films) will be a host of singers including Sid Sriram, Krish, Blaaze, Sathyaprakash, Shasha Tirupati and Haripriya among others, who will perform them even as the filmmaker shares interesting nuggets about the inception and the story behind the track.

Gautham Menon

Musically yours

“I’ve been lucky,” admits Gautham, when we point out the great songs featured in his films, irrespective of the composer, “There is an idea and a written script for all songs that I put out there, and after discussion with the musicians and lyricist, I sit back. I’ve been fortunate to grab the first tune that wafts through the air from their keyboard.”

Those moments have given fans of Tamil cinema some of the biggest superhits in the last couple of decades, like the melodious ‘Vaseegara’ (Minnale) and the breezy ‘Maruvaarthai’ (Enai Noki Paayum Thota), to name a couple of numbers. “For me, something comes alive during song recording sessions. It’s the best feeling.” Sometimes, this feeling extends to not just the basic tune but the entire recording. “Like AR Rahman’s ‘Thallipogathey’, a number that was written over three days in cars, his office and lyricist Thamarai’s residence as it was difficult to write for that song construction. Or, the title track of ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya’. Its tune was hard to comprehend because we were unsure of where and how to fit in the lyrics,” he explains, about challenging tracks in his career.

‘Minnale’, starring Madhavan, Abbas and Reema Sen in the leads, hit screens 25 years ago. The romantic hit flick placed Gautham Menon as a director to watch out for, which was further cemented by an upward career graph, thanks to blockbusters like Kaakha Kaakha starring Suriya, and Vetaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu starring Kamal Haasan. How does he look back at this journey comprising multiple superhits? “I look back with a lot of fondness,” he says, “I have loved being in this space and have gone through ups and downs which came at me unexpectedly. Even the downs have been educative; they have told me what not to do.”

Despite being a popular face, he feels that he got a sense of “having arrived” only recently. This, he says, is probably due to the tremendous expectation from his long-delayed Dhruva Natchathiram, starring Vikram. “See, my friends have always called me Gautham and a few people call me Vasu… but I am still getting used to this whole ‘GVM’ brand that people are attaching with me in recent years. Wherever I go — in airports and college events — everyone is asking me this one question: when is Dhruva Natchatiram releasing? I could have moved on from it, but I’m not directing any other film because I really want to put that out. It is because of the expectations from audiences,” says the director, who today carries a bag with the initials, GVM, embossed prominently in it.

He might be well known as a filmmaker, but he is also an actor, having done roles in prominent films including Leo and Dragon. In fact, one of the common perceptions among people is that he took up acting gigs to ensure financial stability and to release his long-delayed Vikram-starring Dhruva Natchatiram. “The big misconception is that I am in debt and I am acting in films to sort out those issues,” he clarifies, pointing particularly to his sequences in Santhanam’s DD Next Level, which even spawned memes among fans, “He (Santhanam) did my film (Neethane En Ponvasantham), despite being super busy. I was just returning a favour.”

In fact, one particular sequence, which had him mimicking Suriya’s expressions from the superhit ‘Uyirin Uyire’ song, ended up becoming troll material. “That was told to me in the last minute, but I had to do it because I had signed on to act. I felt stupid while doing it, but I did it. It was not because they were offering me some 10 lakhs to do it!”

The stars shine down

Dhruva Natchathiram, a project initially announced in 2013 with Suriya in the lead that later went to Vikram, is among Tamil cinema’s most-discussed projects. The long delays plaguing this project and uncertainty over release dates, because of financial and legal issues, have raised curiosity among fans over the years. So, what exactly is the issue with its release? Gautham clarifies, “The people who were with the film fell out, and went to court to block its release. Without paying them, the film cannot be released, but the situation is that if we don’t release the film, we cannot bring in the money. It’s a Catch-22 situation. We are now sorting out the legal issues, and also showcasing the film to various investors. We had to sort out egos. In fact, handling the issues with Dhruva Natchathiram was a class in management for me. It took me all these years to battle this, but we are now hopeful of announcing its release date within a couple of weeks.”

Gautham Menon and Vikram on the sets of ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

For Gautham, an engineer-turned-filmmaker, tackling the business issues that presents itself in a largely-creative industry has been “difficult”. “It was,” he admits, “I had a good set of people who would handle it, but they abandoned ship. So, it has fallen entirely on me. Honestly, any other filmmaker would have moved on to other projects, but I have not. Nobody believes that it will release, but that does not bother me much. Because…it is my film at the end of the day.”

For now, though, Gautham is in the mood to celebrate as he gets ready for the next stage of his life, something that he promises will be exciting. Does he have any unfulfilled desires? “I want to experiment with an adventure film soon. I wish to do a historical someday and also work with Rajinikanth sir sometime. I also wish Suriya and I had collaborated a lot more, and I think we will in the near future. Right now, the unfulfilled dream is to get Dhruva Natchathiram released. I’m not sure what business it will do, I really want to put it out there in the theatres.”

Yennodu Vaa Veedu Varaikkum, a musical celebration of ‘25 years of Gautham Menon’ , will be held on February 1, 7pm, at the Music Academy, Chennai. For tickets, log on to bookmyshow