Gautham Vasudev Menon is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that either simultaneously shot with or remakes of his own Tamil films.

Minnale (transl. Lightning) is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon in his directoral debut. The story was written by Menon and Vipul D. Shah, starring Madhavan, Abbas, Reema Sen, Vivek and Nagesh. The film tells the story of a love-struck man, stealing the identity of his former college foe, to pursue his lady love, and the eventual repercussions he has to face when his cover is blown before he could come clean. The film's original soundtrack composed by debutant music composer Harris Jayaraj, became popular prior to the film's release. The cinematography of the film was handled by R. D. Rajasekhar and it was edited by Suresh Urs. Reema Sen made her Tamil debut through this film.