Timepass with Gautham Menon | 'There will be an explosion of medical thrillers now'

The free-wheeling conversation organised by The New Indian Express also saw Gautham touch upon content for digital platforms, something that he wished more filmmakers would take to.

It was challenging to shoot a short film (Karthik Dial Seitha Enn) during the COVID-19 lockdown, but for Gautham Menon it was an experience he loved and probably something he would do again as well. 

A guest on the webinar titled 'Filmmaking in the Time of Lockdown', which is part of the series Indulge Time Pass organised by The New Indian Express group, the ace filmmaker said that the idea for the short stemmed from his eagerness to film something. 

"I wrote a series of conversations between characters from my films. But I wasn't sure if many will be ready. Then I thought Simbu would agree to it and called Trisha too. They loved it," he said, about his short, which has released to mixed responses. 

Gautham added this was always the case with his films. 

"Mixed responses are always good; it means people are talking about the film. You know what the verdict is only after a few days, when the film will be either celebrated or just fades away," he observed. 

ALSO READ: Timepass with Taapsee Pannu | 'I have just wanted to start a discussion with my films'

The idea, he shared, was to be edgy, right from the word go. "Simbu predicted there would be a meme of him as a baby. I said let's go ahead anyway and shoot it." 

The free-wheeling conversation also touched upon content for digital platforms, something that Gautham wished more filmmakers would take to. "Apart from the legal issues that we had to be careful about, my web series, Queen, proved to be a liberating piece of work. We still write for the stars when it comes to films. But here, on the other hand, there was just pure content that we directors could work with." 

Notably, the director has also directed a short for a Netflix anthology, which he predicted will be out in a month. 

Calling himself a cinema theatre enthusiast, Gautham expressed that the magic of theatres would outlive the coronavirus pandemic. But at the same time, one should also be open to digital releases, he said. 

"I love the theatre experience, but all theatres are not going to be welcoming of small films. So, it is completely the producer's decision. Let's be open about it and not ban producers. The future will see both mediums coexist," he noted.

Will the pandemic push filmmakers towards geographically contained scripts? "What we are looking at is working with restricted crews. I believe there will be an explosion of medical thrillers and stories based on conspiracy theories," he predicted. 

The Yennai Arindhaal filmmaker also disclosed that he has a script for a sequel that he wrote during the lockdown. 

"It has come out really well, and will take the character forward. I will someday pitch it to Ajith sir," he said, adding that Vikram would begin dubbing soon for his much-awaited biggie, Dhruva Natchathiram. "We will be looking at a theatre release, and I hope it draws the crowds back to theatres, along with the other big films." 

A theatre experience with the crowds and no fear of the virus, is something the filmmaker is looking forward to, post the lockdown. "It will be the first thing I would do, apart from a relaxing family road trip to Goa."