With Love, GVM
Just like water that keeps flowing through the river without a defined starting point and endpoint, are my thoughts when I try recollecting my inclination towards Gautham Menon — the creator of some of my personal favorites as well as one of the persons who inspires me as a personality.
Right from my remembrance of my childhood, I had always known there exists a director who has directed some films whose names I had just known. Vaaranam aayiram was a huge sensation with its songs being heard and talked in every nuke and corner in 2008. I was hardly 5 years when this movie released and this album is undoubtedly one of my most nostalgic albums of my childhood. I remember me watching the film at that time but I couldn’t obviously experience and feel it at that point of time.
There is some saying that you become more vulnerable and immersive to some artform when you are in the space to resonate and feel your own “self” through it. It was in such a space that I found myself through movies and started exploring more of some classical ones. Vaaranam aayiram was one of the first movies that I watched in that space, and it was such a phenomenal one. The songs with their visuals and even the blurred memories of the scenes of VA were already familiar with me, but the way I could connect and resonate with the film gave a completely refreshing and intimate impact on me. It was from then that I started searching more of Gautham through his movies.
It was from then that I got to watch his films that he had done over the decade and I could feel that each of the films had a conscious effort in presenting the emotional arc of its protaganists in a honest and unconventional way. Say it Aaradhana(Jyothika) from Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, Surya in VA, Anbuchelvan (Kaakha kaakha), Jessie (VTV) all these characters have a lot of internalized conflict within themselves which is convincingly communicated through the film and you tend to resonate with them even if you hadn’t been in their shoes. I really admire and look up to the character arc in his films that show him/her at its weakest form, and slowly persuading themselves to keep up and grow strong in life. You can notice this more predominantly in Aaradhana (Jyothika in VettaiyaaduVilayaadu) and Surya (VaaranamAayiram). And also the plot of Sathyadev with Hemanika and her daughter in Yennai arindhaal deserves lot of praise for the way he clearly followed his instinct without any prejudice, and designed their characters and plot to be the way it is. Not exaggerating but I believe he has shown,expressed and transplanted some intimate feelings and permeable emotions into those who are into his films and I have been one of them for sure.
Having spoken a bit about his films he created, I want to take a note on the songs that he extracted from his composers and lyricists. In my personal opinion and observation, it’s only when you present a clear defined prototype of our requirement, we get what we aspire for. This is what I believe applies to his songs. I have been a keen follower of Gautham’s interviews where he says he actually has a draft of what he wants to communicate through his songs only after which he approaches the composer and artists. This just reflects in the beautiful collection of his songs that his filmography possesses. Thaamarai (lyricist) is one undeniable artist in Gautham’s filmography. There are so may lines and songs that I love but if there is some line that strikes me now it is “Innum konjam neela vendum, intha nodi intha nodi, Ethanayo kaalam thalli nenjoram panithuli” . The way this gets along with Raghavan (Kamal in VettaiyaduV) and Aaradhana (Jyothika) is truly magical.
Get Nitin Sailesh’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
I have heard from his interviews and also in his GVM 25 event about the way he carries the songs from 70s including Uravugal thodarkathai, Kodaikaala kaatre and Ae apna dil tuwa hara as pieces of himself from his younger days which were introduced to him as the favorites of his parents. It just passed on to him to permeate the emotions and stances of his characters through well placed songs in his films. I just look upon to this as how divine Art works. On a wider note, this is my understanding of Art too. That if you can make yourself be in the space to resonate and immerse yourself into any kind of artform by neglecting the external voices and opinions of the outer world, it can persuade wonders within you.
Now saying about all his works, there’s another side of him which again gathered my attention. The way he presents and carries himself. The formal attire, his body language in interviews and some random pieces of thoughts that he shares here and there. I would have hardly missed his interviews and speeches. Having said all this, I was obviously present in “Yennodu Vaa Veedu Varaikkum” the event celebrating 25 years of GVM.
I wanted to share some of the moments from the event and the way they emoted me. To start with, I had just expected this event to be a compilation of his songs with the artist performing them primarily and some interaction of GVM with the audience. But this man totally had a different vision and literally took this show as his own project. The way he had scripted, organised and executed the songs and the lively interaction that was happening over there was truly refreshing.
Right from the moment the curtains unraveled, it was Gautham who welcomed us and he was present in the stage till the end of the show. He started off the show with the Bharathiyar verse that goes like, “Naan veelven endru ninaithaayo” and the following lines from that poem. It’s nothing but what he is in his life. Even after being bankrupt, his movie being in the release queue for almost a decade, he sustained to last his path through acting and conspiring on clearing off all his obstacles. The way he recited these lines and started off the show in his own style, it me feel an emotional outburst and roll out into tears.
Little did I know when I stepped into the event that he would be performing songs there. Songs like Uravugal thodarkathai gained my attention through his usage of them in his films and its such a close and personal favorites of mine. He started off the show with him singing this song and I just got the memories of Vaaranam aayiram title card where he actually sings this from which I started listening to it. It was such an emotional and lovely moment to be in the auditorium where he actually performed the song live. It took me in a whirl of emotions and memories reminding how life had happened over the period of time.
Then yeah the show was segregated into segments with each of the composer he had worked with and him sharing some instances from the those days. One thing that was clearly evident was the way he wanted to credit and support his crew from his composer, lyricist till the band and team that performed and worked on this event.
Through the show, he mentioned about his inspiration Manirathnam who had made him redirect into films and credited a major part of his existence as a filmmaker to Mani. On the parallel note, Gautham is one of those artists whom I look up to for the films that he has created. If I get to write and express more through my words, somewhere through my life, the spark to express through words and the love for ART was inspired from him. His films hold a significant impact in me to dive into exploring myself through cinema and it’s from there that I got to visit more films of some renowned filmmakers. On an external aspect, the kaapu that stays with me in my hand came from his personality and movies where his protaganists always have it. And without any necessary mention, this entire write-up is some callibration of me to express the love and gratitude that I have to him for being one of my frontrunners to show this side of ART and the phase of exploring more of my real “self”!
