After being in the industry for over twenty years, director Gautam Vasudev Menon is still going strong. The filmmaker has made some of Tamil cinema’s most iconic films in the 2000s such as Minnale, Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya, and Vaaranam Aayiram. He has worked with stars such as Madhavan, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, Simbu, Ajith, and more, and has worked with some of the best music composers and technicians.
The filmmaker has developed an image of sorts that fans of his have come to idolize. Be it the way he films his songs or the urban settings of many of his protagonists, a certain auteurial stamp is present in his films. Despite exploring various genres, there is always a touch of GVM that cannot be removed from them.
When asked why he chose to make a film like Nadunisi Naayagal, an experimental film that did not employ music or a score and relied on sound design, he mentioned that he became conscious about his style and image only when the film was criticized. “I didn’t think twice about it at all. Though we had a limited release, we thought it might just breakthrough. On the contrary, there were a lot of adverse reactions to it. Many people asked me why I did this after Vinnaithandi Varuvaya. This is when I realized that there is a certain image and baggage that you carry as a filmmaker which you carry to your next film.”