A biography for Gautham Menonhasn’t been written yet.
“I write linearly without knowing the full story. I discover it as I write it.”
“One reason why I've taken 11 years to make my second Hindi film is because I am comfortable working with the stars in the South, as they are with me.”
“The industry doesn't usually say nice things about my work. My films take a while till they are accepted as good and I think 'Yennai Arindhaal' too will go through that phase.”
“I go straight into shooting with a script that's 80 per cent complete and I wait for my characters to grow on me before I finalise the climax.”
“There are people who've told me cinema is a visual medium and you don't need to say so much. When I write the script, all these lines of what the characters are thinking are written. Once the film is shot and the lines are dubbed, I tone it down in postproduction if I feel it gets heavy.”
“The only aspect I'd probably change in some of my films is the death of the heroine. I wish I'd kept some of them alive.”
“Whatever the script demands, I do.”
“Today, most big stars want scripts to be written in a particular way, show them in a certain light. They want people to like them for various reasons. It's all about how much people will like me in this film than about whether it's a good film or not.”
“In Mumbai, I feel like a stranger.”
“I do a film because at that particular moment, I want to make a film. It is my attempt at moving away from the ordinary.”
“I firmly believe in copyrights and am put off by plagiarism.”
“Generally, I feel I'm cast aside because of the kind of movies that I make.”
“How the audience as a collectivity feels about a movie is important.”
“I may have got a little carried away and many critics found fault with some aspects of the film, but as a coming of age film of a character, 'Vaaranam Ayiram' worked with the audience.”
“Though I'm happy with the response to the film, I've been hearing the feedback that 'Yennai Arindhaal' has traces of my earlier films. It was meant to be like that. Since it's part of a trilogy, hence the reference to the other two films in the franchise.”
“Most of the romance in my films has been inspired by my father.”
“I write my scripts on a whim, without worrying about plot points and graphs.”
“The music I listen, the book I read, and the people I meet; these are some things that keeps me going.”
“I understand the angst of a filmmaker.”
“It is difficult, but I definitely do want to make a film in Malayalam at some point of my life.”