MID-DAY (June 30, 2017)

His 2001 love saga, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, is one of the most re-watched romantic movies, but actor R Madhavan believes his days as a chocolate boy hero are over. The actor, who will be seen in the Tamil thriller, Vikram Vedha, says, “Although my mind is still young, my body is not the same. When I run on screen, my body runs like a 48-year-old man’s.” He adds, “I even told Vikram Vedha directors Pushkar and Gayathri that we should head to Switzerland and shoot a colourful movie like a Yash Raj production. I would love to play those roles, but I’m not quite sure now,” the actor said at a press meet in Chennai. The gangster-cop thriller has Madhavan essay the role of a rugged encounter specialist.

He says people in the Hindi film industry have watched the trailer for the movie, thanks to Shah Rukh Khan, who released it on Twitter. “Since Shah Rukh released the trailer, it has already grabbed the attention of Bollywood filmmakers. The entire industry has watched it.” Madhavan said he did not have enough time to shoot the film in Hindi simultaneously, but is open to take it to Bollywood. Heaping praise on his co-star, Vijay Sethupathi, who plays the role of a gangster in the movie, Maddy said it was an honour to collaborate with him. “I feel proud to have worked with Vijay Sethupathi. I’ve shared screen space with greats like Kamal Haasan and Amitabh Bachchan. Usually, in multistarrers, I make it a point to meet my co-stars during rehearsals. But, I met Vijay for the first time on the set.”

The actor said despite being pitted against each other in the film, they got along well off- screen. “He’s a fantastic guy. We had a great relationship. He’s the most intelligent actor I’ve ever worked with.” Sethupathi said he was initially nervous about working with Madhavan, but the actor turned out to be friendly. “I was nervous since Maddy is a big star and has worked with a lot of legends. Despite being a senior actor, he didn’t have me feel inhibited about expressing my opinion on a scene,” says Sethupathi.

Also starring Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Kathir and Shraddha Srinath, Vikram Vedha is slated for release on July 7.