Gautham Menon talks about Ajith, Suriya, Vijay and STR

In a recent interview to CR Hemanth, director Gautham Menon has opened up on the turns and bends in his 15-film long career. Jotted down below, is the gist of the different topics which were pulled up there.

Working with Ajith in YennaiArindhaal

Gautham Menon revealed that he usually writes scripts without a specific hero in mind, but YennaiArindhaal was one of those few occasions where he wrote the film for Ajith. He added that he shares a superb rapport with the actor, and was extremely comfortable working with him.

AR Rahman, Ilayaraja and Harris Jayaraj

One of the eye-openers during this interview was the fact that Gautham Menon has never rejected any song in his career. After explaining the situation of the song and getting the idea clear in the head of the composer, GVM has always taken what he has been given. And that was the case with all the three music directors.

His break-up with Suriya

Gautham Menon didn’t dodge the question about his discomfort in working with Suriya again. He said that Suriya was in his friend’s space, and failed to understand and trust the fact that Dhruva Natchatiram would work, with just half of the narration. GVM admitted that he was hurt and bothered, but though he doesn’t want to cut off opportunities, he doesn’t feel the need to be friendly anymore.

The much sought-out Yohan

Spilling the beans on the interesting Yohan: AdhyayamOndru, Gautham Menon spoke about Vijay’s frozen reaction after hearing the script, and the reluctance to do an alien film of this sort. The director said that Yohan was about an Indian guy based in the US, who joins the CIA and goes off on a mission. He added that he wanted to give the film an international feel, with a James Bond like protagonist, foreigner heroines, classy stunts and so on. Vijay had disagreed to do the film, citing that it would be set in a completely different milieu which won’t connect with our audiences.

Working with STR and the AYM journey

GVM had no second thoughts in saying that Simbhu was more of a friend to him, and that AYM will have slight traces of VTV embedded within. One of the eye-wideners came up when GVM said that the film is based on a line from The Godfather, and that will be mentioned at the start of the movie.