R Madhavan once revealed how Mani Ratnam boosted his confidence after Alaipayuthey; says his best performance is still ahead

R. Madhavan is currently riding high on the success of 'Dhurandhar : The Revenge', but the actor continues to reflect on his journey with honesty.

Despite nearly three decades in the industry, Madhavan maintains that his finest work still lies ahead.

In a past virtual interaction, the actor opened up about self-doubt, career choices, and the moment Mani Ratnam made him truly believe in his abilities.

R Madhavan on early self-doubt and hunger to achieve

Madhavan admitted that even today, he feels a sense of inadequacy about his craft. "I feel very inadequate right now. I don’t think I will ever reach that stage ever. When a big star or politician or leader, who embraces and says and means that he likes my work or I meet people from different generations, maybe that time I feel I am on the right path. But I still strongly feel that my best is yet to come. I don’t know if it is a safety mechanism or that is a fact. I have never sat around… The fact that I have also financially never (been) super settled at any given point of a time, the hunger to create a star life has always kept me wanting more,”

He also spoke about his discomfort with the idea of stardom and the lifestyle it demands.

“I have realised that I can never live like a star, I am a terrible star. I don’t wear designer clothes. I can’t afford to have people around me all the time. I also realise that your demeanour and the way you walk at the airport or in public kind of decide how many people mob you and how many leave you. I am very hungry. I don’t think I have ever reached a stage where I feel I have made it.”

‘Alaipayuthey’ phase and age concerns

Madhavan recalled feeling conscious about playing a romantic lead at the age of 30 in 'Alaipayuthey'.

The success of the film pushed him to consider sticking to similar roles for stability.

“As soon as I finished Alaipayuthey, I (felt) needed to get into a bracket of age group where I will be able to play that sort of role over and over again because it becomes easier to catch a particular genre and keep making movies in that genre when it works. And people have done that before and it has worked for them. But I realized that maybe I won’t be this young teenager looking for a long time. Hence, I jumped into Kannathil Muthamittal, where I played the father of three children. Most guys told me (it was) suicide that time.”

R Madhavan on choosing unconventional roles over comfort

Instead of playing safe, Madhavan consciously moved toward diverse and unconventional roles.

“I was very conscious that I had to find a niche for myself where I am not competing in areas that are not strong for me. In that attempt I started doing roles that were very varied, which were not in the mainstream realm of films but had the ability to earn a lot more than what was invested. That became an addiction over a period of time and I started picking up roles that people normally would not associate with commercial heroes. I started playing to my strength and here I am today and my absolute desire to do something different, he said.”

Standing tall alongside superstars

Working with legends gave Madhavan a sense of validation about his craft.

Mani Ratnam’s reassurance changed everything

Madhavan revealed that it was Mani Ratnam’s trust that truly made him feel like a capable actor.

“Since I never wanted to be an actor, I never trained to be one. Till I started Alaipayuthey and I remember my first take was okay for Mani Ratnam but it was when he offered me Kannathil Muthamittal that was a reassuring factor that he actually considered me an actor and that I am capable of pulling off something,”

He even considered stepping away from acting after his debut film.

“I remember I told Mani Ratnam that after his film Alaipayuthey that I don’t think I will be acting because it was like ‘where do you go, what do you do, especially when you don’t have a background in the industry’. But every time I got ok and saw reviews, I realised this looks like a life-long profession,”

Meanwhile, currently, R Madhavan is getting heavy praises for his stunning performance as Ajay Sanyal in 'Dhurandhar'.




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