Amid speculations, GVM clarifies 'Ennai Noki Paayum Thotta' comment was a joke

Ace South Indian filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon  (GVM) has clarified that a statement he made during the promotion of his latest release, 'Dominic and the Ladies' Purse', on Dhanush-starrer 'Ennai Noki Paayum Thotta' had been misconstrued. In his interview with Baradwaj Rangan, the actor had joked that 'Ennai...' was not his film. However, now the director-actor has issued a clarification that he made that comment as a joke.

It all started when GVM was asked about the film, and the director responded by saying, “I forgot that film. What film was that? I remember a song from that film.” When reminded that he was the one who had made it, he, in a lighter vein, replied, “No, not me; somebody else did it.”

However, his comments were taken at face value, and some of the fans were quick to arrive at the conclusion that the director had disowned his own film. Now, Gautham Menon, in another interview on a YouTube channel, has clarified and set the record straight. “I had made that statement as a joke. It was my film. See, it was the only film I couldn’t make to the extent I wanted to. I jokingly said that because I had to finish shooting in five to 10 days what I had to shoot over a period of 20 days. But people misconstrued that and thought Gautham Menon was saying that it is not his film at all,” Gautham explained.

“If another producer had bankrolled this film and I had made that statement, that would be wrong. However, I was the one who produced that film. Of course, Escape Artists' Madan was the producer, but I took over from him and got that film released and, as a result, got associated with Ishari sir, who asked me to direct three films for him. So, my statement was made in a lighter vein and not one of disownment,” Gautham explained.

To another question on whether he was not satisfied with the film, Gautham replied, “Yes. I'm definitely not satisfied. I only made the first half of the film properly. I could only make the first half in exactly the same manner as it was on paper. We faced a lot of problems while making the second half. I did not get the hero's dates as he went off to shoot for Vada Chennai'. There was a problem between the producer and the hero, and I was caught in between. I looked for ways to complete it. I could have left it and gone, but I believe any film should be released and therefore worked for its release.”