Gautam Vasudev Menon, who credits his filmmaking skills to watching the works of his idol Mani Ratnam, shared an awkward moment he had with the ace filmmaker due to actor R Madhavan. Recalling the incident, Menon humorously stated, "I hate Madhavan," referring to a narration mishap.
Ratnam celebrated his 68th birthday. To honour the occasion, O2india released a special video dedicated to the Ponniyin Selvan director, featuring Menon discussing his "Guru."
In the video, Gautam Menon recounted an incident where R Madhavan insisted that he narrate the script of his debut film Minnale to Mani Ratnam. Menon expressed his discomfort, saying, "I was made to go and narrate my first script Minnale to Mani sir by Madhavan." He admitted feeling anxious about narrating to someone he deeply admired. Despite his nerves, the film eventually materialised.
In another interview, Gautam Vasudev Menon shared that Mani Ratnam was initially unimpressed by the story of Minnale. However, Madhavan, feeling sympathetic towards Menon, agreed to work on the film with him.
Released in 2001, the movie also starred Abbas and Reema Sen in key roles. It depicted the tale of a young man who falls in love with a girl engaged to his former college rival. Despite the initial scepticism, Minnale emerged as a commercial success.
