Vinayakan’s performance in Dhruva Natchathiram his career best, says Gautham Menon

Director Gautham Menon has lauded Vinayakan's outstanding performance in the upcoming flick ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’, calling it the talented actor's best yet and highlighting his new stylish look. “You may not have seen Vinayakan sir so stylish in any other movies. His dialogues as well as his swag are going to be the highlights of this movie,” says Gautham Menon, in his interview with Divya Darshini.

Handling a big actor like Vinayakan is not that easy. For, he demands specific inputs on some aspects, like the style of his character, costume, and mood, the director-actor reflected. “Vikram sir was not worried over whether Vinayakan’s performance would overshadow him. They were very cool, and it was Vikram sir who did the spot makeup for Vinayakan for many scenes. In action scenes, they discussed among themselves what could all be done, how it should be done, and all. Such things gave us immense joy. I’m lucky that I chose the right actors for this movie. They gave me whatever I wanted from them without much of a fuss.”

Gautham Menon said the audience is in for a surprise over the appearance of the talented actor in the spy action-thriller. “As I said earlier, his dialogues as well as his swag are going to be the key highlight of this movie. It was Divya Darshini who first suggested Vinayakan’s name to me. I was scouting for an actor to play the villain’s character, and this was when she asked me to watch his movies. This is going to be his career-best performance. I am not sure if he knows this or not.”

Gautham Menon, who celebrated 15 years of his debut superhit movie ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’ said he was lucky to have actor Chiyaan Vikram to play the hero’s role. “I rang him up randomly when this project had landed in a stage of uncertainty. It was during one such conversation that Vikram sir asked me a few questions like why Dhruva Natchathiram was wound up and why Surya said a ‘no’ to this project, etc. I replied I had no idea but explained the idea of this movie to him. If that be the case, come to my home and we will discuss it in detail.”

“Thus, I reached his home and spoke at length about the movies that I did. He heard the story and liked it. However, he had no dates to spare at that time but promised to do this project no matter the challenges. Whenever I tweeted about some other movies, most of the comments that appeared underneath sought details of this movie.”

Back then, the makers had released a promo teaser with scenes shot much before the actual schedule began. “I had a vision, but there were no people to stand by it. The project had to be halted for two to three years and then Covid struck. Later, another team approached me. I wanted the film to have fresh elements. Vikram sir is happy now.”

“Now that we concluded the project, I strongly feel this movie requires a sequel. I am also contemplating a cinematic universe,” he added. ‘Dhruva Natchathiram’ is slated for a release on November 24.