R Madhavan about having a loyal fan following despite taking up age-appropriate roles; insists he doesn’t want to project himself as an alpha male
MID-DAY (February 12, 2016)

Let’s begin with your latest outing, Saala Khadoos. Has it made money at the box office? A. We made money, but I thought we’d make a lot more.
Even for my super flop film, Jodi Breakers, we made Rs 2.5 crore on day one and Rs 7 crore over the weekend. Raju (Rajkumar Hirani, coproducer of Saala Khadoos) is stunned at the figures. We barely had any publicity. People didn’t know when the film was releasing. In Tamil the film went berserk. It made more money in week two — almost a 40 per cent jump.

Is it true that Sudha Kongara Prasad wanted to make the film with you because she is a fan?
No, we used to fight like cats and dogs. She was Mani Ratnam’s assistant, one of the last ones working when I was a star there. She would come up to me and talk about continuity and I’d ask her shut up. I am always skeptical when I work with Mani Ratnam’s assistants because they would come with my mentor’s sword over their neck, and I have to be careful. But when I read Sudha’s script, I was completely blown away with the kind of research that she had done for it.

Given that she is a debutante director, how much did you all have to work on the film?
She had a basic story, so I worked on the screenplay with her for the first two years before we pitched it to Raju. We had to work on it; she was inexperienced to an extent, but she would take suggestions from everybody and mould it. Whatever films I do, I submit myself to my director because they decide how I should perform. I date my directors, take them out for dinners, debate and discuss, throw red herrings at them just to see how they function under pressure and if they accept all my suggestions or have their own point of view. Sudha was acing all of that like Aanand L Rai (maker of Tanu Weds Manu).

Do you also pitch ideas to makers?
No, I don’t pitch ideas; I give them full-bound scripts. Either the maker and I finish it and pitch it to producers, or there is an idea that I have and we work on it. But mostly, I don’t have original ideas, so I wait for the director to come to me. I have a bit of expertise in screenplay writing.

Do you feel Saala Khadoos’ release with Mastizaade affected the business?
No, because they released with 1800 prints and we went ahead with 500. The strategy.

What’s next?
I will take a break and decide whether I should keep my hair and moustache, or take it off. There’s a script I am doing on encounter specialists. The research is underway, and I will soon undergo arms training to make sure that I look like an arms specialist. We are meeting people involved with the police and Defence forces. For my kind of films, there is a little bit of research that goes into it, because I don’t think I can entice people with the way I dance or show them my six packs now.

You are known to be a good motivational speaker. Why don’t you pursue it?
I do that every time I have to convince a producer to back my films. That’s all I need. I recently gave a speech at a Coimbatore college which went viral. Since then I have been getting a lot of offers, but I don’t think I am qualified for that right now. I want to act and be in front of the camera.

People have appreciated you for your movie choices. But how do you regard the award system in the industry?
I am someone who gives enough respect to the media and award organisers to decide whether they need to give me an award or not. I cannot and I will not lobby for awards. I think if professional friendship is going to influence all that then it is not earned in the first place. It makes me think that I am better than I actually am. I know I have found a place for myself in the industry and will be walking into the archives; they will never forget that there was an actor like me — that much I know. I just have to make sure that I keep pushing myself. The awards system works the same way in the South as well. If you get an Oscar, your standing in Hollywood goes up. So, if you were charging 2 million dollars, you can charge 5 million dollars post that, but that doesn’t happen with any award here in India. However, the National Award has suddenly got a lot more importance now.

Is it a challenge to find age-appropriate roles?
I have always done age-appropriate roles except for 3 Idiots (2009). That’s the best part; you can make a Piku and get Rs 100 crore out of it. I have no qualms playing my age and that’s what the audience likes. If I were to dye my hair and behave like a 31-year-old and romance a girl, doing the scene would have felt obscene, let alone the audience watching it. Having said that, I know there are 23-year-old girls who lust after me. But that’s a one-off thing as they are not lusting after the Maddy that I am right now; it is just about the image of who I was and what I had been — that I can’t take seriously. The moment I do that, I will become a dirty old man. But as an actor, I can’t look for a non-age appropriate role just to prove I am the alpha male around.

R Madhavan on spending his life’s savings on the film
Latha Srinivasan (DNA; January 20, 2016)


There’s hype suddenly around you and Saala Khadoos...
I would like to take the credit completely for myself but the truth of the matter is if I had come with any other film, I don’t think the anticipation level would have been the same. It is the very reason why I took the sabbatical to work for my look — mostly the script motivated me and the director. I think half the hype is because of my new avatar.

Tell me about transforming yourself for the role?
Complacency sets in when you do what you’ve been doing well and it’s very easy to walk down that path. I get bored easily and I was getting bored with myself. My wife told me that she could see the passion go out of my eyes. She said, “Maddy, if you’re that bored, change your profession or revamp yourself.” I needed somebody to tell me that. The mental makeover was far tougher than the physical one. It was really tough to push myself into a corner, stop feeling like a star, be humiliated and humbled, make myself unrecognisable and travel with the public. I just felt what it was to be a common man all over the world. I started rebuilding myself. The hard work was very tough but it was great knowing that one is capable of doing that.

When the director Sudha Kongara narrated the script, did you think it would be a life-changing role?
Oh yes! Right away. My instinct has been my greatest tool. Scripts that other heroes don’t touch or see the light of day are the ones I knew will work for me. In this movie, I’m doing the most anti-hero thing. I’ve grey hair, I’m seen in bed with a woman who’s not my wife, I’m letting the heroine say you’ve a bulky stomach but a cute smile. When the script comes to you, it just motivates you to take these leaps of faith which you normally wouldn’t do. That’s why I felt I should put not just my blood and soul but also my money in it to make sure it sees the light of day in the glory with which it was written. Full marks to Sudha for having been able to pull that off.

This is your first time with a female director.
When you imagine a woman director, you always think she’ll come to you with a emotional story. Sudha, came up with a script on women’s boxing in India. You’re obviously going to read the script with a little bit of apprehension. But the amount of research and interviews she had done and the visuals she had included in the presentation to substantiate the story was astounding. That I didn’t expect from a female director or any director for that matter. There was no way I was going to let something like this go.

Why did you want Rajkumar Hirani on board?
I told Sudha I’ll take responsibility of seeing the film go on floors and producing it. I then tried to find people who will see the film in the same light as me and finance the film as well. But whoever I went to couldn’t see the film the same way. No one was willing to invest in the film as is. It was then that I came to the lowest point in my life and career. I had completely depleted my bank account and was living on wafers. Raju Hirani is a close friend and someone I respect a lot and taking the script to him would have been the obvious thing to do. He kept asking me what I was working on and he asked me why I was talking a sabbatical. He was in the middle of PK so I told him I didn’t want to bother him. I was talking to this dear friend of mine in the US who’s like a brother and I told him I’m going to drop this film. He had seen me every step of the way in this film as I was staying at his place in the US for my training regimen. He told me that I couldn’t drop the project and that there was nothing called failure but just various degrees of success. He said if I don’t take the risk now then I wouldn’t the next time round. He told me, “Maddy, see it to the end. Irrespective of the outcome, you’ll benefit from it in the long run. ” That afternoon I made up my mind to meet Rajkumar Hirani but I didn’t want to put any pressure on him. I narrated the story to him in 20 minutes — the defining 20 minutes of this film. He said he hadn’t heard a script like this in 15 years. Raju asked me, “Tell me, what do you want me to do for this film.” I told him to be the wind beneath our wings and that we would make the film and if he thought it was worthy of his name, then to help us get it released. But he did much more than that. Sashikanth of Y Not Studios also had the exact same reaction and he wanted to produce the film in Tamil. He stood like a rock and when Rajuji happened to come on board, I think it was worth all the effort.

Why cast a real-life boxer (Ritika Singh) instead of an actress?
We wanted someone who was a world champion boxer, around 17, who knew how to act, whose parents would allow her to act, hold her own, look like a heroine and speak in Hindi and Tamil. To find a girl who can speak in Tamil is a big challenge in Chennai. My friend Raj Kundra invited me to the Super Fight League. I saw Ritika there and knew in 15 minutes that I had found my heroine. When Sudha met her, she was euphoric. Ritika took to acting like fish takes to water and reiterated what I always believed in — acting is an innate skill. I believe that the power of the right script draws only the right people to it and this film has done that over and over.

Shah Rukh Khan also played a coach in Chak De! India. Do you think there’ll be comparisons?
Obviously. The comparisons will be in the filmy section of the audience and the filmy people. We’ve had 40 screenings but no one came up with Chak De! India. Secondly, the first day first show audiences who would have seen that film then aren’t the same ones today. Thirdly, there’s no similarity in the form, sport or characterisation themselves. My movie is more about the relationship between a man and a woman — two broken people who support each to get to the glory they are capable of. Chak De! Is about a man who was vindicated after he was assumed to be a traitor. If we are to compare every film that had a coach, then even Million Dollar Baby is one.

Rajkumar Hirani on the Sanjay Dutt biopic, being comfortable in a producer’s shoes and his immensely successful directorial innings
Harshada Rege (DNA; December 16, 2015)


Imtiaz Ali said in a recent interview that the best producer is the one who is invisible. Agree?
Imtiaz must have meant someone who doesn’t impose or interfere, but invisible doesn’t mean that you are not there. You do your thing without showing that you are doing it. So, I think that is the way I handled these people. I did not go on the sets for a single day. I knew that if I did, there would be a lot of pressure on the actors and director. If they had written some scenes, I would give them my inputs or rewrite it a bit and hand it to them. Once it was given to them, it was up to them whether or not to use it. Once they finished shooting, I sat on the edit. So, I helped them creatively, but without imposing myself on them. I would always tell Sudha Kongara (the Saala Khadoos director) that the final call is hers. But she is a smart girl, she understands that if she is getting a good suggestion, she should take it.

Did you struggle with production, especially during 3 Idiots, your first film as a producer?
I started with Vinod (Vidhu Vinod Chopra). He was there for my first two films. With 3 Idiots, I got into production. I used to do ads, so I had a team at a smaller level that would handle things, so it wasn’t a problem. But sometimes, I feel that, ideally, a director should be given that comfort where he shouldn’t be thinking that I have to sign these cheques in the evening. A director should be in a position where he is only directing. On the sets, he is only looking at the performances, thinking ‘How I am going to shoot this?’ But very honestly, I have never been in that position. I got a lot of support when Vinod was there. He would handle the bigger issues, but he’s not someone who is on the sets and handling issues. He would put the money in the bank and say, ‘Yeh paisa hai, chalo tum log banao’. Toh, de facto you were still a producer. I do dream of a day where I can find a person who can completely take charge of all that and I can get up in the morning and say, ‘I just have to direct’. At the same time, if I produce more, I want to give that to someone.

When did you think of making a biopic on Sanjay Dutt?
This story wasn’t on my radar, it actually fell into my lap. I was planning to do something else after PK. When Sanjay came out on parole for the first time, he opened up and began venting. I had gone to his house to meet him. I must’ve gone at at about 5 pm and ended up staying there till 3 am just hearing him out. And that, despite having worked with him in three films. I thought I knew him. But when I heard him, I realised I knew very little of his life. I was blown away. So, I told him, ‘I will come some other day. I want to hear more’. Next day, he called me up at 4 pm. I went to his house again. Then I started going to his house everyday, this happened for the next 25 days. After the second day, I called Abhijat to join me. We used to go there everyday and hear him out. I was completely amazed by a life like this. I told him, ‘This should be made into a film’ He said, ‘Ya, make it.’ I told him but you have to tell the truth. He said, ‘This is the truth. Do what you want with it.’ Then I met his family, his friends, other people, cops, everybody. It’s turning out to be something different.

Most of his life story is in the public domain. How will you make it interesting?
People don’t know his life. They think they do, but they don’t. You know only those few things that are written. Par andar kya hai...nobody knows.

Why did you choose Ranbir for the role?
Whenever I have seen Ranbir, I have just loved the way he performs. I think he’s a fantastic actor. Secondly, we needed someone who could play Sanjay from 18 years to 35. He’s at that age where he can play both. And third, he knows Sanjay very well. He is born in a film family, he understands that world better than anybody else. With all those factors put together, I think he’ll do a fantastic job.

What period of Sanjay’s life fascinates you the most?
His entire life has been a roller coaster ride. His sister told me one day that they never got to spend time with him. She said, ‘Our brother comes and goes away.’ At eight, he was sent to a hostel. Ten years later, when he returned, his mother fell ill, so kahin chala gaya, then for drug rehab, phir chala gaya. Wahaan se aaya, phir jail chala gaya. It’s such an up-and-down journey... so there’s lots to say (smiles).

What would you say about censorship today which many filmmakers have a huge issue with?
It has to be a body of certification. It cannot be a body that says, ‘Yeh kaat do, woh kaat do’. They should say, this is your work and for this we’ll give you an ‘A’. How there’s PG-12 or 14, for example. I think in any work of art, there always will be randomness about what is good what is bad. Those contradictions will always be there, ke yeh pass hua, woh nahi hua. The people who sit there to review our films represent a cross-section of the society, it’s critical that those people are selected well. The moment you have educated people like, say, college professors, lawyers, artists, who have a slightly liberal point-of-view towards life, we will end up creating a Board which will look at things more holistically. Any cinema gives you a point-of-view. A lot of junk also comes, so it’s a problem for them. But take for example PK, it’s giving a point-of-view. If censorship stops that point-of-view and says, ‘We are not going to let this pass’, then there will be no progress in life. You need to have a liberal point of view for a society to grow. I think woh kuch bhi karenge gaaliyan khayenge, It’s a tough job for them. Sometimes they do well, sometimes they make mistakes. But I think if the members can be selected a bit carefully it will be an easier space.

A lot of young directors of this generation look up to your work, whose work do you admire?
Among earlier directors, Guru Dutt and Hrishida’s (Hrishikesh Mukherjee) work. But I think that everybody, at some stage, makes one great film and that work you admire. When I look at Talvar, I look at the way Vishal (Bhardwaj) has written and I say ‘Wow! What wonderful dialogues, wonderful writing!’ The way Meghna (Gulzar) has directed it, I’d say, hats off. The performances by Irrfan (Khan) and everyone are great. So every time, there will be some work of a filmmaker that will inspire you. This time, Vishal inspired me with his film. I love the way Imtiaz (Ali) does his work. I love the way (Anurag) Basu can surprise you with his work, the way he did with Barfi. (Anurag) Kashyap in his own way. So all of them are doing great stuff in some way. Kabhi koi picture achchi hogi, kabhi nahi hogi, that stuff keeps happening. I would say films inspire me more than the makers. One particular film of a filmmaker inspires you, then obviously you appreciate that person.

Of the characters that you have written, which one are you closest to?
The character you are writing at that point obviously become closest to you then. You spend two years living with that character, trying to be like them, trying to think like them. I remember, when we made two Munnabhai movies and we were planning to make the third one, someone told me ‘Don’t make another Munnabhai because now you are behaving like him, you are talking like him, your bhasha has become like that.’ When you are writing a character, you are completely engrossed with that person. Munnabhai, being the first film, will always remain special.

Does your son want to follow in your footsteps?
He is showing some inclination towards filmmaking. But it’s too early to tell, he’s still in school.

What’s a day in your life like when you are not working?
The trouble is that I am always making movies. In the last few years, it’s been PK, then Saala Khadoos — many things are happening. I have just jumped from one film to another. A lot of times, I feel that I should just get away and take a backseat, but the thing is, I also enjoy this. If you have to ask me what do I like doing beyond this, then I would say I like travelling. I love to get away and I have been planning for many years that I’ll take off somewhere for a month, but I haven’t been able to do that till now. At the most, I have been able to run away for four-five days and I have to be back. But travelling is something I want to do in this lifetime as much as I can.

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 26, 2013)

While Priyanka Chopra is busy morphing into Mary Kom for the Olympic medalist’s biopic, a new film on the sport will see a real sportswoman wearing boxing gloves onscreen.

Producer Ashvini Yardi is on the lookout for a boxer who can play the female lead in her upcoming film which will see R Madhavan play her coach and romantic interest.

“We need someone who knows the moves inside the ring. We are auditioning professional boxers from Sanjay Dutt and Raj Kundra’s mixed martial arts championship, SFL,” she told Mirror, admitting that Olympian Vijender Singh who features in her on-the-floors Fugly is helping her scout for the new talent.

Ashvini was introduced to the story, about a boxing coach and his prodigy, by R Madhavan. The two moved with the same circle of friends when they both worked at a TV channel two decades ago.

A source says, “Some time ago Madhavan called and coaxed Ashvini to listen to a script. She had several projects lined up wasn’t sure if I wanted to take on another. But halfway into the narration, she was bowled over.”

Madhavan has been training in LA for a year now to get the rugged look needed for the character. Comparisons to the Oscar winner Milion Dollar Baby are bound to arise but Ashvini says, “It’s inspired by a real life story.”

The sports drama with a love angle woven in is expected to roll around April-May 2014 and will be shot in North India. It will be directed by Mani Ratnam’s onetime assistant Sudha Kongara. Does Priyanka Chopra’s Mary Kom biopic have competition!