Mad about Maddy

WELL-DESERVED

Going by the ecstatic response to his performance in the hit film 3 Idiots, R Madhavan (popularly known as Maddy) is riding high on his much-deserved wave of success. “It was quite challenging to pull off roles meant for someone half our ages, but it looks like we did it!” says the self-possessed actor, basking in the glory of the film’s  instantaneous box-office triumph.

Starting off as a popular South Indian star, Madhavan manifested his acting credentials across linguistic genres and after making his mark in Bollywood films such as Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein and Guru, apart from his other successes, has placed himself firmly on the cinematic map.

“Shooting 3 Idiots was fun but challenging, since I had to cope with a knee injury along the way. I tore a ligament playing badminton with Prakash Padukone as part of my get-fit-for-the-role fitness plan. Luckily, Raju Hirani and Aamir came up with the idea of my wearing the knee bandage as part of my injured college student look,” he says. “Actually staying on campus and interacting with the students was like reliving my youth all over again. We did all the stuff college students do like, playing outdoor games like badminton and tennis and indoor games like Carrom and Dumb Charades and chilling out. Being an engineering student myself, the role was quite easy to relate to. On top of it, I really enjoyed working with Aamir and Sharman again as a team after Rang De Basanti,” he adds.

While he hopes that 3 Idiots becomes the biggest blockbuster of the century, he is also looking forward to the release of his new films, which promise to be very successful as well, like Tanu Weds Manu with Kangana Ranaut that will release some time next year. He also has two Tamil films set for release in the coming year and plans are afoot to make a bilingual (Hindi-Tamil) film with director Vikram of 13B fame.