R Madhavan came up with not-so-known trivia and stories from his life in the first episode of The Filmy Hustle, hosted by distributor-exhibitor Akshaye Rathi. At the very beginning, he opened up about how he became an actor.
R Madhavan reveals the FASCINATING story of how he convinced Mani Ratnam to cast him and not Abhishek Bachchan in Aaytha Ezhuthu; admits that he was drawn to ‘Banegi Apni Baat’ as “for the first time, we people smooching on TV”
R Madhavan began by saying that he was not very serious about his acting career initially. He said, “I remember seeing Banegi Apni Baat on television with my friends. It was fascinating as for the first time, we saw people smooching on the small screen! In those days, it was quite a scandal. I told my friends, ‘I can do that. (Someday), I’ll do that series’.”
R Madhavan continued, “Then, one day when I was in Mumbai to teach, somebody offered me a role. He told me, ‘I am offering you a break’. I replied, ‘I don’t want a break. How much are you paying me?’ (smiles). They told me that they’ll pay me Rs. 2000 for Yule Love Story; it aired on Zee TV. Then, somebody came to see me on the set and offered me another show. That’s how I bagged Banegi Apni Baat.”
R Madhavan then soon graduated to work on films, thanks to Mani Ratnam. Both worked in several films together and this is when R Madhavan explained how he bagged the role in Aaytha Ezhuthu (2004), the Tamil version of Yuva. The dashing actor said that initially, Abhishek Bachchan was supposed to play the roles in both versions.
R Madhavan revealed, “I was very keen to work in Aaytha Ezhuthu. But I didn’t want to do Siddharth’s role. That’s the role he had in mind for me. Again, it would have been the role of a lover boy. I heard the story and expressed my desire to take on Inba’s role. However, Mani sir told me that he already had somebody in mind for it and that I could do the role of Arjun if I wished to. I asked him when he planned to start. He informed me that he goes on floors in 2 months and that he had already finalized Abhishek Bachchan for the role. I asked him for one month to convince him. He told me, ‘I am going ahead (with my original plan)’. You can do what you think is fine’.”
R Madhavan added, “I shaved off my hair. I started playing golf without sunscreen. As a result, I became quite tanned. I also built up my muscles. I literally became unrecognizable.”
He raised laughs as he narrated, “I went to Mani sir’s house with that look. He had tight security as he was under threat due to Roja (1992). The guards looked at me and asked me, ‘Yes?’. After a few moments, they realized who I was (smiles). I asked them not to inform Mani sir that I had come to meet him. I wish I could show you the look. I was bald; it was a crazy look.”
He further said, “They went inside and told him that someone had come to meet him. He got upset to see that someone had come unannounced, that too during lunch! He came to see me and he also couldn’t identify me. I couldn’t handle it and I started smiling. He said, ‘Maddy?’. I nodded. He made me sit and he kept looking at me. He then asked me if I would like to play Imba.”
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