Blockbuster Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon's latest film, Joshua: Imai Pol Kaakha, starring Varun and Raahei in the lead roles has released in theatres starting today, March 1, after a long wait. The celebrated director has now in an exclusive podcast interview with Galatta spoken about the film, while also sharing about his journey in Tamil cinema. GVM goes on to speak about what prompted him to choose filmmaking as a career and what other profession he would have pursued had he not become a director.
Speaking about what made him decide to become a film director, Gautham Menon said, "This is what defines me and I realized this when I was 16. After watching a film, I had a longing in me and felt that I should do this. I don't know what else I would have done had it not been for this. A question popped up in my mind whether the work we do only defines us and if there's nothing more beyond that. There are many things within us like another world, family, traveling, books, the films we watch, the various people we meet, but I feel that this is what defines me. When I'm at my home, in some way, these thoughts and ideas, when I think about writing, when I watch a film and get inspired, or when the people around us share with us something beautiful, it brings up a thought about including it in my work. So, I think this defines me and I could have done so many other things, but I don't know whether I would have been the same me had I followed those paths."
Gautham Menon further stated, "You may ask what else if not this. Maybe I would have been a house husband who would stay home and look after his kids. I would just love to cook and be there, and take care of people. I love to do that. When everybody is eating, I like to serve. I like to be in the kitchen. I like to cook. I like to clean vessels. I like to do all that. I'm not saying this as some big thing, but I like that. So, I would have loved to just stay at one place and take care of everyone. I could have done that. Or, my life would have gone down the path of becoming a cricketer and I could have pushed myself a little more and pursued it. I played back in school and college, and maybe if I pushed myself a bit more, I could have become a bowler. It's not important the heights we reach, but I could have done that. I don't know how much that would have defined me and whether it would have given me a sense of satisfaction, a complete comfort and happiness. But, this has given me that irrespective of the problems, and this is there in anybody's journey."
Explaining his passion for filmmaking, Gautham Menon added, "No matter what we do, there will always be an obstacle or a push back, and we might look and wonder how a year went by. But, beyond that, I'm always looking forward to talking to you or to anybody regarding a film. I honestly say this that I don't think about why I should talk after completing a film. There are various ways to promote films. After giving 7-8 interviews, I believe that there's no need to speak from our hearts. Putting up posters alone is enough. I look forward to this, I love what I'm doing, and that's why I'm talking to you, and that defines me."
Watch Gautham Menon get candid about his life in the Galatta podcast video below:
