Kalagathalaivan Promotions: Magizh Thirumeni Shares How He Met Gautham Menon

Magizh Thirumeni's Kalagathalaivan has been getting positive reviews and the film was a well-made thriller with grounded performances. Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nidhi Agarwal, Aarav, Kalaiarasan, and others acted in the film.

In an interview to a YouTube Channel, Magizh Thirumeni shared the story of how he met Gautham Menon.

He said, "I was working with Selvaraghavan, and had seen Gautham's Minnale. It had just been released. I found the characters in the film relatable. And probably for the first time in Tamil cinema, I saw people speaking grammatically correct English. And in an era where Tamil cinema heroines would typically curl up in their room and reject all men everywhere after a heartbreak, the lead female moved of Minnale moved on from her breakup and focused on finding someone else. It was all relatable to me. And the movie was a phenomenal success. The songs were big hits and I loved the film. I loved the sensibilities of the film."

"I had my own idea of how Gautham would look. I didn't know him in person at the time." Magizh Thirumeni continued. "I was expecting to have long hair and a beard. I had expected someone with the stereotypical intellectual look of that time."

"I still remember seeing it for the first time. It was in a magazine, in a small thumbnail-sized picture. He was nothing like I had imagined him to be. He had short-trimmed hair and big eyes and he was just different. And in that particular photo, he had an "uncle" vibe to him. And that was it. At that time, I had no idea I'd be working with them later and all that. But I liked his film."

"Three or four days later, I was in the edit suite of Suresh Ars - for Thulluvadho Ilamai. When I stepped out of the suite, he was out there. I introduced myself. I told him my name and said I was working with Selvaraghavan. I told him 'Sir, I'd like to work with you.' In my earlier experiences with directors, it would be a huge deal to meet the director. And after meeting them, there would be an interview process. They would ask for a revisit or say that they will call back. You won't get an answer. This guy did not ask me one question. He did not interview me. All he said was 'Now I'm doing Minnale in Hindi. Soon, I'll start my next film in Tamil. Come and join me.' That's it. I didn't know whether to believe him or not."

"The respect I had for him that day, still remains the same. To date, I'm still a fanboy. And, yeah.. so that's how I joined."