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This is a shot I've been trying to pull off for some time. I'm always annoyed that the view of the Partners statue is blocked by guests posing for photos, a situation exacerbated by the presence of one or more Photopass photographers. I decided to try and shoot over them by mounting my camera on a monopod and hoisting it up over my head. The result is not quite as I imagined it, but it's not a bad first effort.
Different look at a musician. Long Grove IL Chocolate Festival 5/5/2013
Photography by: Ccreative Images Photography. All rights reserved.
Inspired by the the theme of "a different perspective" for the "Me Again Monday" group.
And here's my pompous artist's statement! ;-)
I've always wondered how much it's possible to make a self-portrait and yet hide at the same time.
When I first started doing self-portraits, I was inspired by the way that Cindy Sherman used to play different characters in her self-portraits and I wanted to explore the idea of how much I could look like someone else but still look like me. I realised that even in choosing to make myself look different, I was revealing more of myself than I thought, just in a different way.
After a while, I've started trying to be more honest in selfies.
Just now I've come full circle, and I feel like adding some of the mystery back in.
Uh-oh... does my bum look big in this?!!
Closeup Right Side View of 17'', 12'' and 6'' Disney Classic Rapunzel Dolls
Three different sized ''classic'' Disney Rapunzel posable dolls standing in front of each other. They all have the long, straight blonde hair, and the purple and pink gown that are normally associated with Disney's version of Rapunzel.
17'' Limited Edition Rapunzel has 17'' long straight blonde hair, with intermingled golden metallic strands. She is holding a golden brush in her left hand. Released in an edition of 5000 in March 2011 by the Disney Store. Price $99.50 US.
12'' Disney Parks Collection Rapunzel Doll has 17'' of long straight blonde hair, with shimmering highlights. She is holding a paint brush in her right hand, and her chameleon friend Pascal is on her left forearm. Released by the Disney Store in November 2010, and by the Disney Parks (in different packaging) in Summer 2011. Price $17.95 US.
6'' Tangled Ever After Blonde Rapunzel Mini Doll is part of the Disney Tangled Ever After Mini Princess Doll Set. She has 5'' long straight blonde hair, and a plain version of the purple and pink gown. No accessories or shimmering hair. Released in February 2012 by the Disney Store.
This aluminum kettle is filled by pouring water in through the plastic cylindrical handle. Its design allows the water to enter the kettle, heat and exit through a different opening that appears to be an extension of the handle. Production of this kettle stopped in 1996.
Not all of Philippe Starck's designs were so successful. This kettle, launched in 1989, is the favorite design fiasco of Alessi CEO Alberto Alessi. The cone-shaped shaft pierces the body of the kettle, serving as both its handle and spout. The complex mechanism needed to redirect the steam proved unreliable, leading Alessi to pull it from the market in 1997. Alessi said, "You shouldn't need an instruction manual to operate a kettle."
Philippe Starck said:
"The Hot Bertaa is one of my first pieces produced by Alessi. Alessi is a star, so it was a real highlight, a heart-stopping moment. Michael Graves had done it, as had Richard Sapper, so I had to be extraordinary, to show all my talent. But I became somewhat self-deluded and came up with the theory of immobile aerodynamics. There are certain objects that don't need to move, like a kettle placed on a table. If you give such objects movement, or dynamics, as they are unmoving, they might try to instil movement around them. It may be true. It seems to work a little. But with hindsight, I was just trying to get myself noticed, I wanted to make a masterly, sculptural object. In fact, this sculptural object is one of my worst pieces ever. It isn't very functional, it's dated, too fashion conscious. It's one of the things I'm most ashamed of. And to take the story further, this object, which existed for all the wrong reasons, also had a very difficult birth. It took 5 years to develop. Firstly because certain people at Alessi were very slow. And secondly, they didn't understand the complex system of valves and such. After 5 years, we couldn't recall why this object existed. So if a thing starts out badly, it ends badly, too. That piece was one of my big regrets. It illustrates the limitations of design, and it was responsible for my gradual loss of interest in stylistic design and masterly design."
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Different, is the old, new thinking. There are many projects that are in the works and in the planning stages. Trying to turn them different from the usual media of photos or video. This is the first of them. It is a challenge, a great one indeed. Only makes us better.
Look for more amazing from Tripoli. :)
The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a species of passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia. It has also been intentionally or accidentally introduced to many parts of the world, making it the most widely distributed wild bird. It is strongly associated with human habitations, but it is not the only sparrow species found near houses. It is a small bird, with feathers mostly different shades of brown and grey.The House Sparrow is a chunky bird,[2] typically about 16 cm (6 in) long, ranging from 14 to 18 cm (5.5–7 in).[3] It has a large rounded head, a short tail, and a stout bill.[2] In weight, the House Sparrow generally ranges from 24 to 39.5 g (0.84–1.4 oz).[4] Weight varies by sex, with females usually smaller than males.[4] Younger birds are smaller, males are larger during the winter, and females larger during the breeding season.[5] Between and within subspecies, there is further variation based on latitude, altitude, climate, and other environmental factors, under biological rules such as Bergmann's rule.[5][6][7][8]
The plumage of the House Sparrow is mostly different shades of grey and brown. The sexes differ, with females and juveniles mostly buff, and the male marked with bold colours.[7] The male is duller in fresh non-breeding plumage, with buff tips on many feathers. Wear and preening expose bright markings of brown and black, including a throat and chest patch, called a "bib" or a "badge".[9] This patch is variable in width and general size, and some scientists have suggested that patches signal social status or fitness, a hypothesis which has led to a "veritable 'cottage industry'" of studies, which have only conclusively shown that patches increase in size with age.[10] In breeding plumage, the male's crown is grey, and it is marked with black on its throat and beneath its crown. The cheeks and underparts are pale grey. The mantle and upper back are a warm brown, broadly streaked with black, while the lower back, rump and uppertail coverts are a greyish-brown.[11] The female has no black on head or throat, nor a grey crown and its upperparts are streaked with brown.[12] The juvenile is deeper brown, and the white is replaced by buff; the beak is pink to dull yellow.[12]
There is some variation in the twelve subspecies of House Sparrow. The subspecies are divided into two groups, the Oriental indicus group, and the Palaearctic domesticus group. Birds of the domesticus group have grey cheeks, while indicus group birds have white cheeks, as well as bright colouration on the crown, a smaller bill, and a longer black bib.[13] The subspecies Passer domesticus tingitanus differs little from the nominate subspecies, except in the worn breeding plumage of the male, in which the head is speckled with black and underparts are paler.[14] P. d. balearoibericus is slightly paler than the nominate but darker than P. d. bibilicus.[15] P. d. bibilicus is paler than most subspecies, but has the grey cheeks of domesticus group birds. The similar P. d. persicus is paler and smaller, and P. d. niloticus is nearly identical but smaller.[14] Of the less wide ranging indicus group subspecies, P. d. hyrcanus is larger than P. d. indicus, P. d. bactrianus is larger and paler, P. d. parkini is larger and darker with more black on the breast than any other subspecies, and P. d. hufufae is paler.[14][16][17]
The House Sparrow can be confused with a number of other seed-eating birds, especially its relatives in the genus Passer. Many of these relatives are smaller, with an appearance that is neater or "cuter", as with the Dead Sea Sparrow.[18] The dull-coloured female often can not be distinguished from other birds, and it is nearly identical to the females of the Spanish Sparrow and Italian Sparrow.[11] The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is smaller and more slender with a chestnut crown and a black patch on each cheek.[19] The male Spanish Sparrow and Italian Sparrow are distinguished by their chestnut crowns. The Sind Sparrow is smaller, with the male less black on the throat and the female usually having a distinct pale supercilium
Cámara: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Objetivo: EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM, Focal 55mm, Tiempo de Exposición: 1/160 seg., Apertura: f/8,0, ISO: 100, Vicente Alfonso - fotoaprendiz.com - vicentealfonso.com
Softbox pointed at her face, power M.
a composite shot of myself and model Emma Preston, the 2 shots where taken on 2 different evenings a week apart
Thought I'd share a series of this Iceberg taken from different areas and the changes occurring as a result of The Tides, Temperatures and Wind.
傍晚的郊外，山雨欲来，两个年轻人在悠闲的散步，一位农民却正疾步赶路。/A farmer walked quikly for something while two young man was taking a walk at dusk in the suburbs。
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All photography and content are copyright © Vasken Spiru. All rights are reserved world wide. None of these photographs or stories may be reproduced and/or used publicly in any way without the written permission. If you are interested in using my pictures, please contact me at vaskenspiru@gmail.com
Our late winter break in Tenerife was a bit different this year. The weather was forecast to break the day we arrived – and it did! Rain wasn’t the problem it was gale force winds – the same winds that caused the dust storms in Africa that caused the pollution and sand in the UK. We have witnessed gales in Tenerife before but this was worse than we’d seen it in the past . The palm trees were bending, the sand drifting like snow and the sea was raging. We usually walk around 150 miles on a ten day break but for five days we just walked with a brief spell on the beach, then the gales came back. We covered 22 miles some days and totalled 192 miles, not bad for a beach holiday. In some of the photos it looks stunning but look at the tops of the palm trees, like inside out umbrellas, the beach beds are empty and the waves were up to ten feet high and smashing thirty feet in the air. For five days everyone stood taking photos of the sea. For two days all boats stayed in harbour, only the big ferries sailed, there wasn’t a thing at sea, not even the surfers, we’ve never known that happen before. To add to this jellyfish in their hundred were washing up on shore and there was a severe risk of a burn from them. Even when red flags were flying and flags warning about the jellyfish were up the occasional nutter would go in the water and some people took staggering risks with their children including one couple with a baby, dangling it over the waves, just to get a photo, playing chicken as monster waves crashed in.
One day I had to catch my club sandwich as it went flying from my plate in the wind, empty glasses slid off the table and seat cushions went cartwheeling down the pavement. A couple of days were dull and cool but the menacing clouds made impressive photos, the sea was like a boiling cauldron. We did have days of beautiful weather as well, the second half of the holiday was normal sunny Tenerife. I haven’t hired a car for ages on Tenerife, it adds a degree of hassle to – what is supposed to be – a sun and relax holiday so again we didn’t go up El Teide. Next time perhaps. I took my racing bike once just to cycle from sea level to 8000 feet nonstop – twice! it’s a seventy mile round trip and a long drag to the top. On the way home we had to make an emergency landing in Dublin, fire tenders with foam jets pointing at us, unfortunately I was facing the setting sun and couldn’t take photos as the sun was shining straight through the window. Seven and a half hours on the plane, not much fun.
To see more about the history of J B Schofield & Sons Ltd and their plant and vehicles look here: www.jbschofieldandsons.co.uk/
found this flowering shrub @ the UBC botanical garden. Photo has been turned a quarter turn to the right.
Visited a different wetlands in my area yesterday looking for a Beaver Colony but never even got close to a creek except where it went under the roadway.. The trail I was on didn't go by the creek and I only saw this one little robin who so patiently posed for me.. Could it possibly be ready for spring?
Cette image je l'ai fait à 3842m (l'Aiguille du Midi) et surpris., Qui est une montagne dans le massif du Mont Blanc dans les Alpes françaises.
Le téléphérique vers le sommet, le Téléphérique de l'Aiguille du Midi, a été construit en 1955 et a tenu le titre de la plus élevée du monde téléphérique depuis environ deux décennies. Il détient toujours le record de la plus haute ascension verticale téléphérique du monde, de 1035m à 3842m. Il se déplace de Chamonix au sommet de l'Aiguille du Midi - un gain d'altitude de plus de 2800 m - à 20 minutes.
Le nom de "l'Aiguille du Midi" se traduit littéralement comme «l'aiguille du midi". Il est dit que le soleil se trouve directement au-dessus de la crête, à midi, vu de Chamonix.
I got the house stained using 4 different stain colors, distressing in between layers. I am using paper clay to add the chinking between logs on the exterior but still have LOTS to go. I had fun painting the floor with different stain colors to make it look like wood :). Then, I sanded the whole floor to distress it and coated in satin top coat. I also installed the curtains. Always a feat!
I'll apply something on top of the roof wood, maybe some pine cone bits. Eventually, I'll be adding moss (of course) and flower boxes and shutters and plants. Whew!
Most of the furniture is complete now. I still need to finish the bed and bedding plus figure out what to do for table and chairs.
My sweet hedgehog and her baby are tenants so far. They were created by the incredibly talented jujurodgers on Etsy. Love her work!
Thx for looking :)
Not exactly what I had in mind when I made this shot and it went allmost straight to the thrashcan. But, on second look I decided to keep it and see what you guys think.
Please let me know :)
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973), more commonly known as Gautham Menon, is an Indian film director and producer, who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Many of his films have been critically acclaimed, most notably his semi-autobiographical Vaaranam Aayiram (2008), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) and his action-thrillers Kaakha Kaakha (2003), Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006). Vaaranam Aayiram won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Gautham Menon spearheaded releasing movies of same content in different languages, simultaneously. He produces films through his London Stock Exchange-listed Photon Kathaas film production company.Early life and education[edit]
Gautham was born to a Malayali father and Tamil mother on 25 February 1973 in Ottapalam, a town in Palakkad district of Kerala. Although, born in Kerala he grew up in Trichy, Tamil Nadu.[1][2] He studied Mechanical Engineering in Mookambigai College of Engineering, Trichy.[3][4]
Career[edit]
Early work, 2001[edit]
Gautham Menon was a student of mechanical engineering at Mookambigai College of Engineering, Trichy in the batch of 1993, and his time there inspired to make his lead characters of Minnale, Vaaranam Aayiram and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, students of the same course.[5] He claims to have been inspired by films such as Dead Poets Society and Nayagan and expressed his desire to his parents to change career path and become a filmmaker and consequently wrote his first film at his college hostel. His mother insisted he became an ad film maker by shooting various commercials and took an apprenticeship under filmmaker Rajiv Menon. He went on to work as an assistant director for Minsara Kanavu in 1997, in which he also appeared in a cameo role.[6]
Gautham Menon launched a Tamil romantic film O Lala in 2000 with the project eventually changing producers and title into Minnale with Madhavan, who was at the beginning of his career, being signed on to portray the lead role.[7] About the making of the film, Menon revealed that he found it difficult as the team was new to the industry with only the editor of the film, Suresh Urs, being a prominent technician in the industry.[8] Menon had come under further pressure when Madhavan had insisted that Menon narrated the story to his mentor, Mani Ratnam, to identify if the film was a positive career move after the success of his Alaipayuthey. Despite initial reservations, Menon did so and Ratnam was unimpressed; however Menon has cited that he thought that Madhavan "felt sorry" and later agreed to continue with the project.[8] The film also featured Abbas and newcomer Reemma Sen in significant roles, whilst Menon introduced Harris Jayaraj as music composer with the film.[7] The film was advertised as a Valentine's Day release in 2001 and told the tale of a young man who falls in love with the girl engaged to his ex-college rival and how he manages to get married to her. Upon release it went on to become a large success commercially and won positive reviews from critics with claims that the film had a lot of " lot of verve and vigour" and that it was "technically excellent".[9]
The success of the film led to producer Vashu Bhagnani signing him on to direct the Hindi language remake of the film, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, which also featured Menon in a short role; having Madhavan with Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan added to the film. Menon was initially apprehensive but said it took "half an hour" to agree and against his intentions, the producer opted against retaining the technical crew of the original.[6] He changed a few elements, deleted certain scenes and added some more for the version. However in comparison, the film gained poor reviews with a critic citing that "the presentation is not absorbing" though stating that he " handled certain sequences with aplomb"; the film subsequently went on to become a below average grosser at the box office.[10] The failure of the film left him disappointed, with Menon claiming in hindsight that the film lacked the simplicity of the original with the producer's intervention affecting proceedings.[11] In 2011, the producer of the film approached him to remake the film with the producer's son Jackky Bhagnani in the lead role, but Menon was uninterested with the offer.[12]
Police duology, 2003–06[edit]
Menon returned in 2003 by directing the realistic police thriller Kaakha Kaakha featuring Suriya, Jyothika and Jeevan in the lead roles. The film portrayed the personal life of a police officer and how his life is affected by gangsters, showing a different perspective of police in comparison to other Tamil films of the time.[11] Menon revealed that he was inspired to make the film after reading of articles on how encounter specialists shoot gangsters and how their families get threatening calls in return, and initially approached Madhavan, Ajith Kumar and then Vikram for the role without success, with all three actors citing that they did not want to play a police officer. The lead actress Jyothika asked Menon to consider Suriya for the role, and he was subsequently selected after Menon saw his portrayal in Nandha.[13] He held a rehearsal of the script with the actors, a costume trial with Jyothika and then enrolled Suriya in a commando training school before beginning production, which he described as a "very planned shoot".[13] The film consequently opened to very positive reviews from critics on the way to becoming another success for Menon, with critics labeling it as a "career high film".[14] Furthermore, the film was described as for "action lovers who believe in logical storylines and deft treatment" with Menon being praised for his linear narrative screenplay.[15]
Gautham Menon subsequently remade the film in the Telugu language for producer Venkata Raju and went on to claim that the new version was better than the previous version and that his new lead actor Venkatesh was more convincing that Surya in the role.[16] The film also featured actress Asin and Saleem Baig in prominent roles and went on to earn commercial and critical acclaim with reviewers citing that "film redeems itself due to the technical excellence and masterful craft of Gautham", drawing comparisons of Menon with noted film makers Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma.[17] In July 2004, Menon also agreed terms to direct and produce another version of Kaakha Kaakha in Hindi with Sunny Deol in the lead role and revealed that the script was written five years ago with Deol in mind, but the film eventually failed to take off.[18] Producer Vipul Shah approached him to direct the Hindi version of the film in 2010 as Force with John Abraham and Genelia D'Souza, and Menon initially agreed before pulling out again.[19] Menon and the original producer, Dhanu, also floated an idea of an English-language version with a Chechnyan backdrop, though talks with a potential collaboration with Ashok Amritraj collapsed.[13]
Gautham Menon was then signed on to direct a venture starring Kamal Haasan and produced by Kaja Mohideen, and initially suggested a one-line story which went on to become Pachaikili Muthucharam for the collaboration.[13] Kamal Haasan wanted a different story and thus the investigative thriller film Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, was written with Jyothika, Kamalinee Mukherjee, Prakash Raj, Daniel Balaji and Saleem Baig added to the cast. The film told another episode from a police officer's life, with an Indian cop moved to America to investigate the case of psychotic serial killers before returning to pursue the chase in India. During the shooting, the unit ran into problems after the producer had attempted suicide and as a result, Kamal Haasan wanted to quit the project.[13] Menon subsequently convinced him to stay on as they had taken advance payments. He has since revealed that unlike Kamal Haasan's other films, he did not take particular control of the script or production of the film. The film however had gone through change from the original script with less emphasis on the antagonists than Menon had hoped and he also revealed that scenes for songs were forced in and shot without him.[13] The film released in August 2006 and went on to become his third successive hit film in Tamil and once again, he won rave reviews for his direction.[20][21] Menon later expressed interest in remaking the film in Hindi with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead role without the love angle, though the project fell through after discussions. In 2012, he re-began negotiations with producers to make a Hindi version of the film with Shahrukh Khan in the lead role.[22] He has stated his intent on making a trilogy of police episode films, with a possible third featuring Vikram in the lead role.[13]
Success, 2007–08[edit]
His next project, Pachaikili Muthucharam, based on the novel Derailed by James Siegel, featured Sarath Kumar and Jyothika in the lead roles and was released in February 2007. Initially the lead role was offered to Kamal Haasan who passed the opportunity, while actors Cheran and Madhavan declined citing date and image problems respectively.[23] Menon met Sarath Kumar at an event where he cited he was looking to change his 'action' image and Menon subsequently cast him in the lead role.[23] During production, the film ran into further casting trouble with Simran dropping out her assigned role and was replaced by Shobana after another actress, Tabu, also rejected the role.[24] Shobana was also duly replaced by a newcomer, Andrea Jeremiah to portray the character of Kalyani in the film. The film was under production for over a year and coincided with the making of his previous film which was largely delayed. The film initially opened to positive reviews with a critic citing that Menon is "growing with each passing film. His style is distinctive, his vision clear, his team rallies around him and he manages to pull it off each time he attempts".[25][26] However the film became a financial failure for the producer, Venu Ravichandran and in regard to the failure of the film, Menon went on to claim that Sarath Kumar was "wrong for the film" and that he tweaked the story to fit his image; he also claimed that his father's ailing health and consequent death a week before the release had left him mentally affected.[23]
His next release, Vaaranam Aayiram, saw him re-collaborate with Suriya, who played dual roles in the film. The film illustrates the theme of how a father often came across in his son's life as a hero and inspiration, and Menon dedicated the film to his late father who had died in 2007.[27] The pre-production of the film, then titled Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam began in 2003, with Menon planning his a romantic film with Suriya as a follow-up to their successful previous collaboration, Kaakha Kaakha.[28] Abhirami was signed and then dropped due to her height before a relatively new actress at the time Asin was selected to make her debut in Tamil films with the project. The first schedule of the film began in January 2004 in Visakhapatanam and consequently romantic scenes with Suriya and Asin were shot for ten days and then a photo shoot with the pair.[28] The film was subsequently stalled and was eventually relaunched with a new cast including Divya Spandana, Simran and Sameera Reddy in 2006 with Oscar Ravichandran stepping in as producer, who opted for a change of title. Menon has described the film as "autobiographical and a very personal story and if people didn’t know, that 70% of this [the film] is from my life".[23] The film's production process became noted for the strain and the hard work that Suriya had gone through to portray the different roles with production taking close to two years.[27] The film released to a positive response, with critics heaping praise on Suriya's performance while claiming that the film was "just a feather in Gautam's hat" and that it was "hardly a classic".[29] The film was made at a budget of 150 million rupees and became a commercial success, bringing in almost 220 million rupees worldwide.[27] It went on to become Menon's most appreciated work till date winning five Filmfare Awards, nine Vijay Awards and the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2008 amongst other accolades.
Romance and experimentation, 2010–present[edit]
In 2010, Menon made a return to romantic genre after nine years with the Tamil romantic film Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, starring Silambarasan and Trisha Krishnan.[30] The film explored the complicated relationship between a Hindu Tamil assistant director, Karthik, and a Syrian Christian Malayali girl, Jessie and their resultant emotional conflicts. The film featured music by A. R. Rahman in his first collaboration with Menon whilst cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa was also selected to be a part of the technical crew. Menon cited that he was "a week away from starting the film with a newcomer" before his producer insisted they looked at Silambarasan, with Menon revealing that he was unimpressed with the actor's previous work.[8] The film was in production for close to a year and throughout the opening week of filming, promotional posters from classic Indian romantic films were released featuring the lead pair.[31] Prior to release, the film became the first Tamil project to have a music soundtrack premiere outside of India, with a successful launch at the BAFTA in London.[32] Upon release, the film achieved positive reviews, with several critics giving the film "classic" status, whilst also become a commercially successful venture.[33][34] Reviewers praised Menon citing that "credit for their perfect portrayal, of course, goes to Gautam Menon. This is one director who's got the pulse of today's urban youth perfectly" and that "crafted a movie that will stay in our hearts for a long, long time."[34] The film was simultaneously released with a Telugu version, titled Ye Maaya Chesave featuring a fresh cast of Naga Chaitanya and debutante Samantha in the lead roles. Like the Tamil version, the film won critical acclaim and being given "classic" status from critics.[35][34][36]
Menon had also made progress over the previous two years directing the psychological thriller Nadunisi Naaygal featuring his assistant and debutant Veera Bahu and Sameera Reddy in the lead roles. Menon claimed that the film was inspired by a true event from the USA, while also claiming that a novel also helped form the story of the film.[8] During the making, he explicitly revealed that the film was for "the multiplex audience" and would face a limited release, citing that "it will not cater to all sections of the audience".[8] He promoted the film by presenting a chat show dubbed as Koffee with Gautham where he intereviewed Bharathiraja and Silambarasan, both of whom had previously worked in such psychological thriller films with Sigappu Rojakkal and Manmadhan. The film, which was his first home production under Photon Kathaas and did not have a background score, told the story of a victim of child abuse and the havoc he causes to women, narrating the events of a particular day. The film opened to mixed reviews with one critic citing it as "above average" but warning that "don’t go expecting a typical Gautham romantic film" and that it "is definitely not for the family audiences", while criticizing that "there are too many loopholes in the story, raising doubts about logic".[37] In contrast another critic dubbed it as an "unimpressive show by l director Menon, as it is neither convincing nor appealing, despite having some engrossing moments".[38] A group of protesters held a protest outside Gautham's house on reason for misusing a goddess name in his film and also showing explicit sex and violent scenes, claiming that it was against the Indian, in particular Tamil culture.[39]
Menon returned to Bollywood with the Hindi remake of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, titled Ekk Deewana Tha, with Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson in the lead roles.[40] Unlike the South Indian versions, the film opened to unanimously below average reviews, with critics noting the story "got lost in translation",[41] and became a box office failure.[42] Post-release, Menon admitted that he "got the casting wrong", and subsequently other Hindi films he had pre-planned were dropped.[43] During the period, Menon also began pre-production work on the first film of an action-adventure series of films titled Yohan starring Vijay in the title role. However after a year of pre-production, the director shelved the film citing differences of opinion about the project.[44] Menon's next releases were the romantic films Neethaane En Ponvasantham in Tamil and Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu in Telugu, both co-produced by Photon Kathaas. Jiiva and Nani played the lead roles in each version respectively, while Samantha was common in both films. Ilaiyaraaja was chosen as music composer for the film, which told the story of three stages in the life of a couple.[45][46] A third Hindi version Assi Nabbe Poorey Sau, was also shot simultaneously with Aditya Roy Kapoor essaying the lead role, though the failure of Ek Deewana Tha saw production ultimately halted.[47][48] The films both opened to average reviews and collections, with critics noting Menon "falls into the trap every seasoned filmmaker dreads -- of repeating his own mandatory formula" though noting that the film has its "sparkling moments".[49][50] The lukewarm response of the film prompted a legal tussle to ensue between Menon and the film's producer Elred Kumar, prompting the director to release an emotionally charged letter attempting to clear his name of any financial wrongdoing.[51] Menon was then briefly associated with the anthology film, X, helping partially direct a script written by Thiagarajan Kumararaja before opting out and being replaced by Nalan Kumarasamy.[52] He also began production work on a big-budgeted venture titled Dhruva Natchathiram, signing up an ensemble cast including Suriya, Trisha Krishnan and Arun Vijay, with a series of posters issued and an official launch event being held. However in October 2013, the lead actor walked out of the film citing Menon's lack of progress in developing the script and the film was subsequently dropped.[53]
Menon's upcoming films include the romantic drama Sattendru Maaruthu Vaanilai with Silambarasan,[54] and an untitled project with Ajith Kumar that entered production in April 2014.[55]