R. Madhavan

Ranganathan Madhavan (born 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor, writer and film producer. Madhavan has received two Filmfare Awards, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations. He has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal, appearing in films from seven different languages.

Madhavan began his acting career with television guest appearances, including a role on the Zee TV prime-time soap opera Banegi Apni Baat in 1996. After appearing in commercials and in small roles, he later gained recognition in the Tamil film industry through Mani Ratnam's successful romance film Alaipayuthey (2000). Madhavan soon developed an image as a romantic hero with notable roles in two of 2001's highest grossing Tamil films, Gautham Menon's directorial debut Minnale and Madras Talkies' Dumm Dumm Dumm. He worked with Mani Ratnam again in the critically acclaimed 2002 film Kannathil Muthamittal playing the father of an adopted girl, whilst he achieved commercial success with his role in N. Linguswamy's action film, Run (2002).

Madhavan was cast alongside Kamal Haasan in the 2003 drama Anbe Sivam, which earned him two notable awards for Best Supporting Actor. In 2004, he gave a critically acclaimed performance as the antagonist in the multi-starrer Aayutha Ezhuthu and the film secured him his first Filmfare Award for the intense portrayal of a rogue. In the mid-2000s, Madhavan also actively pursued a career in Hindi films, by appearing in supporting roles in three highly successful productions, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Rang De Basanti (2006), Mani Ratnam's biopic Guru (2007) and Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots (2009), which went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of all time upon release. He simultaneously worked on Tamil films, gaining critical acclaim for his portrayal of a vigilante in his home production Evano Oruvan (2007) and for the successful bilingual horror film, Yavarum Nalam (2009). After appearing in further box office hits, Tanu Weds Manu (2011) and Vettai (2012), Madhavan took a break from acting. Returning after a three-year sabbatical in 2015, his comeback films, the romantic-comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) and the sports drama Irudhi Suttru (2016), both won critical and commercial acclaim.

In addition to his acting career, Madhavan has worked as a writer on his films, hosted television programmes and has been a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products. He has also worked as a film producer, first making Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films, before setting up Tricolour Films to produce Saala Khadoos (2016). Madhavan is noted for his philanthropic activities and promotes various causes such as environment, health and education. He is particularly vocal about the protection of animals and was awarded PETA's Person of the Year recognition in 2012.

Madhavan was born on 1 June 1970 in Jamshedpur, Bihar (now in Jharkhand), India, to a Tamil family. His father Ranganathan was a management executive in Tata Steel and his mother, Saroja was a manager in the Bank of India. His younger sister, Devika, is a software engineer settled in the United Kingdom. He had a Tamil-speaking upbringing in Bihar.

In 1988, Madhavan gained a scholarship to represent India as a cultural ambassador from Rajaram College, Kolhapur and spent a year in Stettler, Alberta, Canada as part of an exchange programme. He returned to Kolhapur and completed his education, graduating with a degree in electronics. During his college years, Madhavan became actively involved in extra-curricular military training and at 22, he was recognised as amongst the leading NCC cadets in Maharashtra, which allowed him to make a trip with seven others as NCC cadets to England. As a result of this opportunity, he received training with the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, which he had, at a point, considered joining. However he missed the age cut-off by six months and was subsequently unable to join the programme. After he lost out on the place, he began teaching courses on public speaking and personality development skills in Kolhapur and the satisfaction he gained through teaching, prompted him to pursue a post-graduation in public speaking at Kishinchand Chellaram College in Mumbai. During the period, he also won the Indian Championship for Public Speaking and subsequently represented India at the Young Businessmen Conference in Tokyo, Japan in 1992. During his stint in Mumbai, he opted to create a portfolio and submit it to a modelling agency.

Early work

In early 1996, Madhavan worked on a sandalwood talc advertisement directed by Santosh Sivan, who later recommended him to Mani Ratnam to take part in a screen test for a role in Iruvar (1997). Madhavan was auditioned for the leading role of Tamizhselvan amongst several other more established actors, but Mani Ratnam eventually left him out of the project citing that he thought his "eyes looked too young" for a senior role. As his film career failed to take off, Madhavan went on to feature in Hindi television serials, appearing as a crook in his first venture Yule Love Stories. He appeared in leading roles in Zee TV's Banegi Apni Baat and Ghar Jamai, while he gained further popularity portraying the character of Shekhar in Saaya. He also went on to act as a ship's captain in Sea Hawks, as a convict in Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum and as worked as a television anchor in Tol Mol Ke Bol amongst other television appearances. His first appearance in a feature film role came through a small role in Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996), where he portrayed a singer in a bar.

In 1997, Madhavan appeared in a supporting role as an Indian police officer in Fred Olen Ray's English film, Inferno, which was shot in India. His first chance in Indian cinema came in the form of Shanti Shanti Shanti (1998), a Kannada film, in which he appeared as a carefree youngster alongside actor Abbas. However, the film failed to make an impact and went unnoticed at the box office. During the period, Hindi film director Vinod Pandey launched Madhavan as a Bollywood hero, with a project titled Akeli, however the film was shelved before the production process had been completed.

1999–2003

In 1999, leading Indian director Mani Ratnam selected Madhavan to feature in the leading role of his Tamil romantic film, Alaipayuthey (2000) and the film's subsequent critical and commercial success gave Madhavan his breakthrough as an actor. Portraying the character of Karthik Varadharajan, a young husband experiencing difficulties with his marriage, Madhavan revealed that he studied the technical aspects of film-making from the director and learned the entire script of the film, irrespective of whether he was in the scene or not. He became the first débutante actor to be cast by Mani Ratnam in the lead role of a film, and revealed that when he found out that he was set to work with the director he was overcome with a "mixture of excitement, awe, fear and expectations". Featuring alongside actress Shalini, Madhavan's performance was well received by critics and the film's success led to it developing "classic" status. A critic from The Hindu, described that Madhavan "sails through the litmus test with ease", whilst another review cited that Madhavan was a "promising debutant" into the film industry. After the success of his first Tamil film, the producers of his previous Kannada film, Shanti Shanti Shanti, dubbed the film into Tamil and released it as Relax, to capitalise on Madhavan's new-found success. Madhavan's next film, Ennavale (2000), garnered mixed reviews although Madhavan's portrayal was praised as the "mainstay" of the film, with claims that the film for him was a "merely a prosaic exercise".

Madhavan's first release of 2001, Gautham Menon's directorial debut Minnale, opened to critical and commercial acclaim. Featuring a popular soundtrack by Harris Jayaraj and marketed as a Valentine's Day release, Minnale further built on the actor's image as a romantic hero and was later listed as a "classic romantic film" from the Tamil film industry. He then collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the second time by appearing in the director's production venture, the romantic comedy Dumm Dumm Dumm (2001), alongside Jyothika. Appearing as an unhappy groom trying to halt his wedding, the film won positive acclaim and became a commercial success, with Madhavan establishing himself as a bankable actor in South India. Madhavan then again appeared as a husband in a tumultuous marriage in Parthale Paravasam (2001), the hundredth venture of veteran director K. Balachander. Despite featuring amongst an ensemble cast and being highly anticipated prior to release, the film failed at the box-office, with critics citing that Madhavan looked "rather bored" with the proceedings. Similarly his first lead role in a Hindi film, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (2001), a remake of his Minnale, was also unsuccessful at the box office, with the film and Madhavan's performance receiving mixed reviews. However, the film belatedly gained popularity through screenings on television and subsequently developed a cult following amongst young audiences.

In 2002, Madhavan played the role of a novelist in Mani Ratnam's Kannathil Muthamittal alongside actresses Keerthana, Simran and Nandita Das. In the film, he was shown as the role of the father of an adopted child, who wishes to return to her native homeland amidst the Sri Lankan civil war. The film received widespread critical acclaim and went on to win six National Awards as well as over ten awards at various International Film Festivals. Madhavan gained acclaim for his portrayal with a critic citing "he lived the role of the character he portrays", with the film seeing him move away from the romantic hero image for the first time into a more serious, performance-orientated role. The good performance of the film internationally also helped him develop an overseas market for his films. Madhavan's next large success came with Run, a film recognised for its screenplay, with Madhavan appearing in an action film for the first time in his career. In regard to his performance, The Hindu's critic noted "he manages to portray action with élan in Run and actually looks fit and comfortable in the role", with the film helping him make a breakthrough as an action hero. Despite another unsuccessful Hindi venture with the musical, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar (2002), the success of his previous films helped him secure the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for 2002, being jointly recognised for both films.

Madhavan was cast alongside Kamal Haasan in Anbe Sivam (2003), which told the story of an unexpected journey from Bhubaneswar to Chennai of two men who are polar opposites. Madhavan revealed his elation at working with an experienced actor like Kamal Haasan, while noting that a human drama film like Anbe Sivam was important for his career as an actor as it came after a successful masala film in Run. Portraying a young frustrated filmmaker with capitalist beliefs who travels with a handicapped communist played by Kamal Haasan, Madhavan's performance was described as a "milestone in his career" and that "his portrayal will remain with the viewer for long" by a critic from The Hindu. The film opened in January 2003 to positive reviews, but became a surprise box-office failure. Post-release, the film has garnered belated critical acclaim from critics and television audiences and is considered as one of the "cult classics" of Tamil cinema. Film critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote that the film "was leagues ahead of the average Tamil and Indian film", though felt that "the masses were unwilling to accept the experimental nature of the film", while talking about the film's box office failure. Post-filming, Kamal Haasan revealed that he was impressed with Madhavan's enthusiasm and concentration during the making of the film and thus subsequently signed himd || [];$MMT.cmd.push(function(){ $MMT.display.slots.push(["f8c82ef4-99ce-4950-a1e4-888dd1a70976"]); })