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

Tamil filmmaker Gautham Menon reflects on 25 years in cinema, the journey of 'Dhruva Natchathiram', and why it 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

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