I'm completely bereft of script ideas right now: Gautham Menon

I’m completely bereft of script ideas right now: Gautham Menon

Gautham Vasudev Menon has donned many creative hats over the years, from filmmaker to actor to musician. In a chat with us, he opens up about his upcoming directorial Joshua Imai Pol Kaakha (JIPK), his delayed film releases, and the future of his career as an actor…

‘THERE ARE 10-12 ACTION SEQUENCES IN MY FILM’JIPK is an experimental action film with pulsating action sequences. There are 10–12 action sequences in the film that take the story forward. I haven’t ever done something in this space yet. Kaakha Kaakha and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu were police procedurals and thrillers and at the same time, also featured a love story. But here, the focus is completely on action.

‘I DON’T THINK I HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH MAKING MY FILM LOOK CURRENT’Four of my films — Minnale, Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Vaaranam Aayiram and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa — that were released in 2001, 2006, 2008, and 2010 have played in theatres in recent times. So, I don’t think I have any problem with making my film look current. I have people calling me and asking for tickets for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. The day I feel like I’m shooting an outdated film, I’ll probably switch to acting and stop directing.

ON WORKING WITH A RELATIVE NEWCOMER LIKE VARUN…I was given the offer of making a film with Varun, and I said ‘yes’. I thought that a particular idea I had—about a close protection team that comes to take care of a woman —would work for Varun because he seemed agile and comfortable in the action space. He was like a war horse. We sent him to Paris for training for a few specialised action sequences, and he came back completely set for whatever we had planned.

On rediscovering himself as a directorVendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu was a complete shift in genre for me. I was attempting a slightly rural subject, with a protagonist who travels from a village to Bombay. It’s not in the sophisticated space that I normally handle. So, in that sense, I discovered myself. With JIPK, I would probably say that I rediscovered myself, because I designed the action sequences, and the whole script was designed around the action sequences. There are assassins and local gangsters who come after the girl. How the protagonist, Joshua, handles all that is what the screenplay is all about. It’s a very important film for me.

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