Gautham Vasudev Menon's unrealized projects: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:21, 26 November 2023

Revision as of 22:43, 26 November 2023

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===''Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam'' with Suriya===

In late 2003, Menon began work on a romantic drama film titled ''Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam'' with [[Suriya]] in the lead role for Telugu film producer Srinivasa Raju. He had written the script of the film while on a recce to Kochi during monsoon season.<ref name="comksify">{{cite web|year=2004|title=Gautham Menon's romantic tale|website=[[Sify]]|access-date=2011-04-28|url=http://tfmpage.com/forum/archives/3905.17808.23.53.06.html|archive-date=19 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719090411/http://tfmpage.com/forum/archives/3905.17808.23.53.06.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Abhirami (actress)|Abhirami]] was signed on to play the lead female role and then later dropped due to her tall height, in comparison to Suriya. Menon then considered either [[Trisha (actress)|Trisha]] or [[Asin]] for the role, before eventually selecting the latter, who had worked with him on ''[[Gharshana]]'' (2004).<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20071011155851/http://newstodaynet.com/talkies/1103tt1.htm</ref> [[Daniel Balaji]] was also a part of the film's original cast.<ref>https://www.cinemaexpress.com/photos/slideshows/2019/nov/15/13years-of-suriyas-vaaranam-aayiram-a-nostalgic-look-back-at-gautham-menons-heartfelt-ode-to-lov-773--3.html</ref>

Menon revealed that the film would initially be about a young college student who falls in love with a classmate, and in the second half, something large happens on a national level, prompting the protagonist to take it upon himself to solve that, with just his band of friends.<ref>https://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/interview-gautham-menon/</ref> The first schedule of the film began in January 2004 in [[Visakhapatanam]], but the project was eventually dropped owing to Menon's personal issues.<ref name="comksify"/><ref>https://www.behindwoods.com/features/Slideshows/slideshows2/dropped-movies/chennaiyil-oru-mazhaikkalam.html</ref> Menon later reworked the script of the film to make ''[[Vaaranam Aayiram]]'' (2008) with a different cast and crew.<ref>https://www.cinemaexpress.com/photos/slideshows/2019/nov/15/13years-of-suriyas-vaaranam-aayiram-a-nostalgic-look-back-at-gautham-menons-heartfelt-ode-to-lov-773.html</ref>

===Hindi remake of ''Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu''===

Menon expressed an interest in remaking ''[[Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu]]'' (2006) in Hindi with [[Amitabh Bachchan]] in the lead role, without the love angle, though the project fell through after discussions with [[UTV Motion Pictures]]. In 2012, he started negotiations with producers to make a Hindi version of the film with [[Shah Rukh Khan]] in the lead role.<ref name="srkvv">{{cite web|year=2012|title=Will SRK step into Kamal Haasan's shoes?|publisher=[[Rediff]]|access-date=2012-02-01|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/will-srk-step-into-kamal-haasans-shoes/20120123.htm|archive-date=26 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126065044/http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/will-srk-step-into-kamal-haasans-shoes/20120123.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/2012/jan/25/vettaiyadu-vilayaadu-goes-to-hindi-333754.html</ref>

===''Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam'' with Trisha===