Waiting for a turn

Director Vinayan has gifted many new artistes and technicians to Malayalam cinema. His 2010 horror-thriller Yakshiyum Njanum had a batch of debutants and some of them went on to become familiar faces in the industry. One such actor is Gautham Krishn, who played the adorable goon Shyam in the movie. 

Gautham was later seen in movies like Again Kasargod Khader Bhai, Raghuvinte Swantham Raziya etc. and made his Tamil debut in 2015. After a hiatus of three years, he is making a comeback through Jai Shankar’s Tamil movie Vettai Naai. R.K. Suresh plays the lead in the movie and Gautham plays an equally strong character. 

“The film happens in the rural background of Kodaikanal. I play a very positive character. Jomon is the name of the character, who comes from a Christian family and is the son of a teacher. The heroine of the movie comes to Jomon’s house for tuition and he develops feelings for her. However, he never reveals this to her as she’s very young. Soon, he moves from the vicinity for business needs. Later, he comes back to the place in search of her,” says Gautham about his character. Sona Nair will portray Jomon’s mother in the movie. 

Gautham adds that there are certain differences between Malayalam and Tamil industries. His first Tamil movie Manal Naharam was directed by actor Shankar. The movie was 

critically acclaimed, and the director and other actors praised Gautham’s performance. “I’m comfortable with Tamil. I feel the major difference between the industries is the shooting schedules. It takes 30-40 days for a Malayalam movie to get completed, whereas Tamil movies are shot on a slow place with ample breaks in between. Their level of artiste worship is intense and they treat shootings like a festival.” 

Though Gautham made his debut in 2010, he has only done a few movies so far. He cites lack of good characters and opportunities as the main reason for that. “I had my best roles in Vinayan sir’s movies. I feel I haven’t been used well by other directors. But I believe we need to wait patiently for good things to happen.”

Gautham, who has dreamt of cinema since schooldays, is hopeful that his talent will be recognised by other directors, too. 

He has signed a Malayalam as well as a Telugu movie. Some projects are also under discussion. “A few good projects are there. I believe luck is coming my way in 2019. I want to do some really good roles, which will register my face on the minds of the audience as well as directors. As I said, for good things to happen, we have to wait. I hope 2019 will be the year that defines me,” he concludes.