I stand by my film: Gautham Menon

Gautham Menon is nonplussed by the negative criticism that his latest flick has been receiving...
Gautham Menon has been receiving a lot of flak for his Nadunisi Naaygal (NN), which opened last Friday. His fans have felt let down as he dabbled in making a film that they felt was not his cup of tea. Mainstream critics have torn the film apart, saying it lacks the essence of a thriller.However, the film, according to the trade, has taken a good opening mainly in multiplexes and since it is made on a shoestring budget (` 3.5 crore), will be profitable in its first week itself! CT decided to grill Gautham on the mixed reaction to his film...
NN has been receiving mixed reports from the audiences and the critics...
When I was making the film, I knew it would open to a mixed audience reaction. I really didn���������t imagine that there���������s an audience that looks at my films in a certain way. The opening for the film is humbling; the audiences have come for me. If some of them haven���������t liked this film, I accept that and I apologise.
Your core audiences, who liked your earlier movies like Vaaranam Aayiram and VTV feel let down by NN...
If 50 per cent of the audiences didn���������t like it, there���������s also another 50 per cent that appreciated my work. As a director, I need to tackle different genres. When I wrote the script of VTV, there were seven songs and situations written into it. However, when I wrote NN, there were no songs in it. There was no background music, so all my shot composition was done on the basis of the artist���������s reaction and that took the story forward.
The buzz is that women, who form bulk of viewership for your films, walked out half way through NN as they found it a bit too explicit...
No way! In fact, a lot of ladies and those working for NGOs have congratulated me on my handling a sensitive subject like child abuse. I���������m getting a lot of feedback from female audiences that I had the courage to uncover a sensitive topic that usually goes unreported. I have handled the so-called explicit scene aesthetically. The camera did not play Peeping Tom and never went below Meenakshi���������s face in that particular scene that people term explicit.
What about the loopholes in the story; why did a psychopath living in a huge bungalow not raise any suspicion in the neighbourhood? And, why didn���������t Meenakshi seek the help of a psychologist?
A top angle shot establishes that there���������s sea on one side of the bungalow and no houses on the other. Meenakshi Amma did not seek the help of a psychologist because she was traumatised by the boy and felt guilty about it. I have taken that particular incident from a doctor���������s file.
Will you ever do another film in the same genre?
I feel that I���������ve pushed the envelope with this film. I stand by NN and as a filmmaker, I���������d love doing films in various genres. In fact, I���������m just starting to write my next script for a Tamil film that I will start in July.
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