Open Letter to Gautam Menon
Dear Gautam,
I am disappointed.
The thing is, Gautam, you seem to better off making movies with actors who have still not made it. Case at point, Madhavan, who had 3 movies before Minnale with only one hit (Alaipayuthey). Even Surya, who had a dozen movies before Kakha Kakha, had only one decent hit (Friends). The moment you go to established stars, you seem to become overawed and you start to go to conventional plots that cater to their ego, leaving your loyal viewers in the lurch.
I admit that my expectations are the result of one movie and so that might sound harsh to you. But this is the only explanation that I can come up with. And while I am not sure that you would agree with this explanation in reference to Sarath Kumar, but in Kamal’s case, it was very very apparent. That does not pull you down in my eyes, since it is of course natural to be in awe of people that you grew up watching on screen (Kamal, that is). Nevertheless I would have thought you’d learn from your mistake.
Then I watched your latest movie, Pachaikili Muthucharam on screen yesterday. I loved the first half and the twists (do I need to pass on some of the credit to James Siegel?), but the second half left me frustrated. After promising the gourmet meal in the first half, you only delivered frozen pizza. Some of the twists were admittedly a surprise but the rest were predictable to any one with decent IQ. And it is perhaps funny that after Kakha Kakha, both your recent movies have been like this. Yes, this letter is overdue. I should have addressed it to you soon after Vettaiyadu Vilayadu.
So Gautam, whatever your next offering is going to be, stay away from the stars of Tamil cinema. You are a leader and following someone only seems to curb your enthusiasm. Talk to a young actor who is awe of you and who will follow your lead. Talk to Bharath, talk to Dhanush even (and stay away from Simbu). You could even approach Surya, for I am sure he would be in your debt forever. And if the subject demands it, talk to Vikram. He’s known to give a good thought to his subjects.
Hoping to seeing better movies from you.
Your loyal viewer (and fan),
Anantha.
ÜberDesi
VC http://poop-v2.blogspot.com
February 18th, 2007 at 12:23 pmanantha: seeing as how he takes a genre and creates a stylized version (without any dumbing down), his next attempt should be a comedy, with an unknown pair in the lead.
could you please add this note as a P.S. to your letter.
Surya
February 18th, 2007 at 4:32 pm>>Surya – 4 films old before Kakha Kakha
Not nitpicking. Surya has acted more than 10 films before KK
mlc
February 18th, 2007 at 7:45 pmaiyayo anantha! indha wkend paakaporen nu romba enthu-va irukkaen! ippadi oru post potuteengaley:-( … ippo poyi paakalaama vendaama?
superstarksa http://superstarksa.com
February 19th, 2007 at 1:49 ammlc: What to do? Very disappointed, I am.
Surya: Nandri ba. Changed now.
VC: I am not sure if comedy is his thing. He seems to be very intense.
mlc
February 19th, 2007 at 12:36 pmanantha, neenga ippadi solliteenga, angey hawkeye blog le oru rasanai illaa commentr, sify, indiaglitz yellam katti kaapaathina climax-a, padaar nu potu odaichitaar … nalla company irundhaa dhaan i’m goin to feel like goin fr it now, not for anythingelse!
superstarksa http://superstarksa.com
February 19th, 2007 at 4:49 pmnalla company irundhaa dhaan i’m goin to feel like goin fr it now, not for anythingelse
But dont invite anyone to go and watch with you. Let someone else invite you for the movie. That way they can’t abuse you for calling them to you.
DoZ http://www.booksmovieslife.wordpress.com
February 20th, 2007 at 2:44 pmYou’re more forgiving than I was. After VV and this movie – I’m not sure I’ll automatically watch everything he directs from now onwards. His next movie will be the decider. I really hope at least the next one proves that KK wasn’t a fluke.
Zero http://movielane.blogspot.com
February 20th, 2007 at 3:02 pmAnantha,
PKMC was mostly unwatchable and easily Gautham’s worst film. And, to call this a “Balu Mahendra-meets-Quentin Tarantino kind of filmâ€! *shudder*
But, seriously, I never get why Khaka Khaka is always singled out among Gautham’s works. It pretty much had all of what can be now called as the horrible trappings of a Gautham film. In fact, I’d say, Minnale is his most watchable film.
Zero http://movielane.blogspot.com
February 20th, 2007 at 3:03 pmAnantha,
PKMC was mostly unwatchable and easily Gautham’s worst film. And, to call this a “Balu Mahendra-meets-Quentin Tarantino kind of filmâ€! *shudder*
But, seriously, I never get why Khaka Khaka is always singled out among Gautham’s works. It pretty much had all of what can be now called as the horrible trappings of a Gautham film. In fact, I’d say, Minnale is his most watchable film.
superstarksa http://superstarksa.com
February 20th, 2007 at 6:00 pmZero: “Balu Mahendra meets Quentin Tarantino”? WTF? Whose words are these? If he had left it for Tarantino, every single one of the protagonists would have been in involved in some kind of a cyclic Mexican standoff which would have ended with a bullet in every single brain (don’t ask me how!) thereby ending the movie half hour early and saving us a lot of hair.
As for Kaaka Kaaka, I think for some reason the movie was different and ergo better than a lot of trash. I loved both Minnale and Kaaka Kaaka and for all its faults, Kaaka Kaaka is still his best. I thought it was plausible for a ideal police officer to do all that Anbuselvan did.
DoZ: I haven’t forgiven him. I have just been polite. Yup, one last chance he gets. But Surya has gone on record to say that in “Varanam Ayiram” (Gautam’s next), he plays a teenager. So I am really worried. Andrea in a school dress, of course I can handle, even regardless of my misgivings. But Surya as a school student? I don’t know. I am really worried!
mlc
February 26th, 2007 at 12:01 pmanantha! neythiki poyi paathaen! nalla dhaan irundhadhu! one time watchable, that is! neenga gautam oda KK, base-a vechindu idhayum paakareenga nu thonudhu! and guess what? company oda dhaan ponaen and he did’nt bite my head off for taking me to a movie like PKMC!! and he’s not one of those “ok-w/-any-movie” types!
yevvalavo kevalaama padam yellam vandhirku, those that did’nt have any story line, bad starrers, badly taken, kadi songs, adha vida kadi picturizations .. ippadi yevvalavo minus stuff … adhayellam paakarthukku idhu definite-a much better dhaan! hawkeye kekaraa maadhiri, yaen ivvalo critical-a oru review? gautam-ku konjam slack kudunga sir!
superstarksa http://superstarksa.com
February 26th, 2007 at 8:30 pmmlc: This is what I wrote on Passionforcinema, to close this same piece.
I think that sort of answers your point. With Gautam, I don’t want to set the bar too low. And I don’t want to compare his work to Shankar’s or to that of his other contemporaries’s. Just because other movies suck, does not mean Gautam’s should be similar.
Karthik
February 27th, 2007 at 5:39 amHi,
Anantha ur article was really interesting. I havent seen PKMC yet but i got a positive response from some of my friends, and would go and watch it some time. Talking about Gautham, he definitely has a style and uniqueness either in telling the story or picturising it. He’s definitely running in the race for being the best director at present. At the same time it would definitely be odd for himself or others to compare his movies with all the pathetic movies made these days. He needs to set himself a bar, a baseline from where he can excel. If he compares his movies or if he does modify his style and story for his actors, he would be let down in future. There is definitely a need to create awareness among film makers, to make films which would be watched and appreciated even after 20 or 30 yrs.
Lightning Strikes Everyday: February 2007 http://hawkeyeview.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html
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June 6th, 2007 at 5:01 am