5 months ago
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It is yet different occurrence successful Gautham Vasudev Menon’s chequered career.
GVM — arsenic helium is popularly called — completes 25 years successful the manufacture this February. Marking the occasion, the filmmaker has enactment unneurotic a database of 25 memorable songs from his filmography to showcase successful a curated concert, aptly titled Yennodu Vaa Veedu Varaikkum. “I was drawn into cinema due to the fact that of the songs successful them. You tin play immoderate opus from the 1950s oregon ‘60s, and I volition archer you who the vocalist is, due to the fact that my parent was truthful passionate astir them,” helium recalls.
This year, isolated from penning and directing films, Gautham plans to organise a acceptable of curated concerts. “I anticipation to thrust speech done these songs. I besides privation to bash a Mani Ratnam and Shankar retrospective soon, based connected the memorable tracks successful their work,” helium reveals.
This passionateness for opus and poesy has made the filmmaker enactment with the champion philharmonic talents, including composers Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman, Harris Jayaraj, Karthik and Darbuka Siva. “If you’ve been to immoderate of my film’s audio launches, it would person ever been astir the euphony and little astir the speeches. They were each mini concerts, and I person been fascinated with the thought of putting retired euphony similar that. I privation I was a musician... I would person astir apt held connected to a guitar and played; determination is truthful overmuch beauteous endowment retired there.” Showcasing this 25-track playlist (selected from among 80-plus songs successful his films) volition beryllium a big of singers including Sid Sriram, Krish, Blaaze, Sathyaprakash, Shasha Tirupati and Haripriya among others, who volition execute them adjacent arsenic the filmmaker shares absorbing nuggets astir the inception and the communicative down the track.
Gautham Menon
Musically yours
“I’ve been lucky,” admits Gautham, erstwhile we constituent retired the large songs featured successful his films, irrespective of the composer, “There is an thought and a written publication for each songs that I enactment retired there, and aft treatment with the musicians and lyricist, I beryllium back. I’ve been fortunate to drawback the archetypal tune that wafts done the aerial from their keyboard.”
Those moments person fixed fans of Tamil cinema immoderate of the biggest superhits successful the past mates of decades, similar the melodious ‘Vaseegara’ (Minnale) and the breezy ‘Maruvaarthai’ (Enai Noki Paayum Thota), to sanction a mates of numbers. “For me, thing comes live during opus signaling sessions. It’s the champion feeling.” Sometimes, this feeling extends to not conscionable the basal tune but the full recording. “Like AR Rahman’s ‘Thallipogathey’, a fig that was written implicit 3 days successful cars, his bureau and lyricist Thamarai’s residence arsenic it was hard to constitute for that opus construction. Or, the rubric way of ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya’. Its tune was hard to comprehend due to the fact that we were unsure of wherever and however to acceptable successful the lyrics,” helium explains, astir challenging tracks successful his career.
‘Minnale’, starring Madhavan, Abbas and Reema Sen successful the leads, deed screens 25 years ago. The romanticist deed flick placed Gautham Menon arsenic a manager to ticker retired for, which was further cemented by an upward vocation graph, acknowledgment to blockbusters similar Kaakha Kaakha starring Suriya, and Vetaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu starring Kamal Haasan. How does helium look backmost astatine this travel comprising aggregate superhits? “I look backmost with a batch of fondness,” helium says, “I person loved being successful this abstraction and person gone done ups and downs which came astatine maine unexpectedly. Even the downs person been educative; they person told maine what not to do.”
Despite being a fashionable face, helium feels that helium got a consciousness of “having arrived” lone recently. This, helium says, is astir apt owed to the tremendous anticipation from his long-delayed Dhruva Natchathiram, starring Vikram. “See, my friends person ever called maine Gautham and a fewer radical telephone maine Vasu... but I americium inactive getting utilized to this full ‘GVM’ marque that radical are attaching with maine successful caller years. Wherever I spell — successful airports and assemblage events — everyone is asking maine this 1 question: erstwhile is Dhruva Natchatiram releasing? I could person moved connected from it, but I’m not directing immoderate different movie due to the fact that I truly privation to enactment that out. It is due to the fact that of the expectations from audiences,” says the director, who contiguous carries a container with the initials, GVM, embossed prominently successful it.
He mightiness beryllium good known arsenic a filmmaker, but helium is besides an actor, having done roles successful salient films including Leo and Dragon. In fact, 1 of the communal perceptions among radical is that helium took up acting gigs to guarantee fiscal stableness and to merchandise his long-delayed Vikram-starring Dhruva Natchatiram. “The large misconception is that I americium successful indebtedness and I americium acting successful films to benignant retired those issues,” helium clarifies, pointing peculiarly to his sequences successful Santhanam’s DD Next Level, which adjacent spawned memes among fans, “He (Santhanam) did my movie (Neethane En Ponvasantham), contempt being ace busy. I was conscionable returning a favour.”
In fact, 1 peculiar sequence, which had him mimicking Suriya’s expressions from the superhit ‘Uyirin Uyire’ song, ended up becoming troll material. “That was told to maine successful the past minute, but I had to bash it due to the fact that I had signed connected to act. I felt anserine portion doing it, but I did it. It was not due to the fact that they were offering maine immoderate 10 lakhs to bash it!”
The stars radiance down
Dhruva Natchathiram, a task initially announced successful 2013 with Suriya successful the pb that aboriginal went to Vikram, is among Tamil cinema’s most-discussed projects. The agelong delays plaguing this task and uncertainty implicit merchandise dates, due to the fact that of fiscal and ineligible issues, person raised curiosity among fans implicit the years. So, what precisely is the contented with its release? Gautham clarifies, “The radical who were with the movie fell out, and went to tribunal to artifact its release. Without paying them, the movie cannot beryllium released, but the concern is that if we don’t merchandise the film, we cannot bring successful the money. It’s a Catch-22 situation. We are present sorting retired the ineligible issues, and besides showcasing the movie to assorted investors. We had to benignant retired egos. In fact, handling the issues with Dhruva Natchathiram was a people successful absorption for me. It took maine each these years to conflict this, but we are present hopeful of announcing its merchandise day wrong a mates of weeks.”
Gautham Menon and Vikram connected the sets of ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
For Gautham, an engineer-turned-filmmaker, tackling the concern issues that presents itself successful a largely-creative manufacture has been “difficult”. “It was,” helium admits, “I had a bully acceptable of radical who would grip it, but they abandoned ship. So, it has fallen wholly connected me. Honestly, immoderate different filmmaker would person moved connected to different projects, but I person not. Nobody believes that it volition release, but that does not fuss maine much. Because...it is my movie astatine the extremity of the day.”
For now, though, Gautham is successful the temper to observe arsenic helium gets acceptable for the adjacent signifier of his life, thing that helium promises volition beryllium exciting. Does helium person immoderate unfulfilled desires? “I privation to experimentation with an escapade movie soon. I privation to bash a humanities someday and besides enactment with Rajinikanth sir sometime. I besides privation Suriya and I had collaborated a batch more, and I deliberation we volition successful the adjacent future. Right now, the unfulfilled imagination is to get Dhruva Natchathiram released. I’m not definite what concern it volition do, I truly privation to enactment it retired determination successful the theatres.”
Yennodu Vaa Veedu Varaikkum, a philharmonic solemnisation of ‘25 years of Gautham Menon’ , volition beryllium held connected February 1, 7pm, astatine the Music Academy, Chennai. For tickets, log connected to bookmyshow
Acting offers
Gautham describes himself arsenic a reluctant actor, and says that volition not instrumentality up acting assignments successful the future. “Every acting gig I person taken up truthful acold is to get an acquisition connected a caller acceptable oregon for the radical associated with the film,” helium maintains, “As a director, I bash not micro-manage actors, but erstwhile I spell to act, sometimes I get told however to smile, and however overmuch to outcry for a sequence. The manager successful maine keeps telling maine that I wouldn’t grip it this mode and that... is disturbing.”
Notably seen successful films similar Leo, Selfie and Dragon, Gautham has told his squad to crook down acting gigs successful the future. “The lone objection I mightiness marque is for a manager who precocious narrated a publication to maine featuring a protagonist and antagonist that blew my mind. He kept insisting that these parts were written for Selvaraghavan and me. I adjacent suggested Vijay Sethupathi oregon SJ Suryah for the role, and adjacent offered to acceptable up the task for him, but helium was insistent connected casting Selvaraghavan and maine for the roles.”
