Acclaimed cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa is on cloud nine after the massive feedback for his work in 'Thalapathy' Vijay's latest blockbuster, Leo. The celebrated cameraman recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Galatta to talk about the mass action entertainer directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, which has grossed 461+ crores in worldwide collections in the first seven days, while also opening up on filmmaker Gautham Menon's unrealized film titled Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru with Vijay.
Sharing details about Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru, Manoj Paramahamsa said, "It's a grand story, a spy thriller, and runs as three different segments. The story will begin in London." He further explained, "The problem lies in him (Vijay) interacting with all the characters in the story in London in English, while his mind voice will be completely in Tamil. We didn't know how to bridge all this together. If they (GVM and Vijay) decided to team up today and make the film, it'll be on a different scale." Upon being queried whether Vijay will Yohan in the future, Manoj stated, "He can. His taste has changed. After watching Beast, he told me that he likes films in such genres, but he didn't know whether he would fit into those storylines. Be it a story that runs over a day or a film about a flight getting hijacked, he would say that he had a wish to be a part of such projects, but felt that he got restricted to a specific type of film. We had many such discussions [during the shooting of Beast]."
Manoj Paramahamsa also said, "The problem is that the next generation of filmmakers has taken a head-start and is approaching him (Vijay). There is disappointment among fans that Vijay sir hasn't yet collaborated with directors like Gautham sir and Mani Ratnam sir. He too has now stepped out of his mass avatar and come into the space of doing performance-oriented roles. The problem now lies in these new directors like Nelson Dilipkumar, Atlee, and Lokesh Kanagaraj not giving them that space. Maybe if they impress him with something new and they come together, it will be a big nostalgia for the '80s and '90s audiences and a treat for the current generation." He added, "I want to see him (Vijay) collaborate with Mani sir, Gautham sir, and I've also been hearing news about him possibly doing a film with Vetri Maaran sir. I want to see him break away from the regular film pattern and collaborate with serious filmmakers."
Watch Leo cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa talk about Yohan: Adhyayam Ondru and more in the video below: