It’s R. Madhavan’s birthday! That is, the boy Madhavan! The one from Alai Payuthay and Manu Weds Tanu and stuff!
When I was first getting into Indian films, 20 years ago, Madhavan was already beloved. He was a youngish and newish star, but already had this vibe of being somehow more comfortable in his own skin than the other actors. Maybe it was the crossover effect? I knew almost nothing about Indian film at that point, and all my desi friends were talking Hindi films only, but there was this sense that Maddy’s real life was in a different place and industry, we were just seeing part of it, and he didn’t take us very seriously.
Maybe it’s the whole “didn’t take it seriously” that makes him special? When Maddy is onscreen, or in candid photos or interviews, you get the sense of someone who is enjoying his life, and enjoying the people around him, but not stressing about it. It makes him feel open to the fans in a different way, less of a “yes, I am your God, I have a responsibility towards you and will always make time for you” and more of a “hey dude, let’s talk until I have to pick my kid up from swimming practice”.
I think what I am describing is the difference between “like” and “love”. The biggest stars truly Love their followers. It’s a deep complicated emotion that’s full of duty and responsibility and compulsion. But Maddy just “likes” people. He likes doing interviews, he likes chatting with folks on twitter, he likes posting thirst trap photos for us and waving at reporters at the airport. But it comes with this sense of “I am enjoying this today, but if I stopped enjoying it, I wouldn’t do it any more”. Which also means so long as he keeps doing those things, he really truly still likes us! All of us who like him! He enjoys our stupid tweets and posts and all the rest of it. That feels really good.
Maddy’s journey to stardom is interesting, starting out as a motivational speaker PR type person and part time model, already with his wife at the time he became famous, launched into fame by the Classic boy next door film. But it’s what he did after becoming famous that I find most interesting. He has charisma onscreen, he has that special something where you don’t need to know he is famous to appreciate him. That’s why he was cast in Rang De Basanti, he had to be a character you immediately respected and loved and knew was special, but at the same time not such a big name it unbalances the film. Maddy is that, the guy who shows up onscreen and instantly your eyes are on him.
If he wanted to, Maddy could have taken that charisma, built up a specific “star persona” around it, only taken certain roles in certain films, crafted a public appearance to match, built up a huge fan following, etc. etc. Instead, he just acted in stuff he wanted to act in, promoted his movies as needed, and then went home. He had the world offered to him on a plate and went “nah, too much”.
There are a lot of actors who make that choice. being a Star is exhausting and neverending. Irrfan Khan for instance, respected actor, well-known, had a small following, but never put his personal life on blast, never wanted it. Maddy is the only one I can think of who came so close and turned away. Truly, he just had to take one step further and he could have been a major name, a major cross-industry name of the kind India has never seen, and he didn’t want to take that step. He said “no, I’m fine, thanks for the opportunity, I’d rather just keep doing what I’m doing”.
Let me back up a step and talk about that cross-industry aspect. Again, going back 20 years to when I started in Indian film, I was friends with a ton of ABCDs and all we watched were Hindi films. They weren’t all from Hindi speaking families, but in the melting pot of America, Hindi was the thing they could all share. Back home maybe they watched Telugu or Pakistani stuff, but at college hanging out with friends, all Hindi. And we all knew Maddy. Despite the fact that at that point he had only been in TWO Hindi films! Rehna Hai Tera Dil Main was a bit of a sensation, not a blockbuster hit but popular with the kids, and the soundtrack was massive. Dil Vil Pyar Vyar, barely noticed. His first major starring hit role in a Hindi film wasn’t until Tanu Weds Manu in 2011. And yet, weirdly, he was doing Star Cameos for years before that. Among a group that had never seen his Tamil work, that had possibly never even seen Rehna Hai Tera Dil Main (my friends told me not to bother with it, so I assumed they didn’t like it), he shows up in Guru and we go INSANE. He’s a crossover star in Hindi without having to do any of the work to actually crossover. Just existing as Maddy made him beloved. Compare that to the effort Prabhas and Dulquer and others are going through today, tons of promotions and appearances just to be noticed by the Hindi audience, followed by a huge star making film. Maddy, he just strolls on to set in Rang De, Guru, Three Idiots, Jhoothi Hai Sahi, and the audience goes crazy just because he is him.
All he had to do was take one mainstream major role in Hindi cinema. Just one. And I am SURE they were offered to him! But no, he went for interesting films and, more often than not, supporting roles. He didn’t want it. That thing that every young actor today is chasing, the cross-India fame, Maddy has it and doesn’t use it.
And that’s why we like him. We love him because he is Maddy, because he shows up onscreen and smiles and you have to smile back. But we like him because he just doesn’t care, about any of the big stuff. He’s the easy breezy lemon squeezy star, minimal angst, minimal drama, just enjoying his life and hoping we enjoy ours.
