‘Ye Madhavan hai ki James Bond': When R Madhavan's pre-acting life as a Royal Army trainee and debate champion left Saurabh Shukla awestruck
Actor, filmmaker, and FTII President R Madhavan wears many hats, but even before entering the world of entertainment, Madhavan was a multi-achiever. Recently, an old clip of the actor from the 90s went viral, where he is seen talking about his qualifications beyond acting. Before stepping into showbiz, Madhavan was a Royal Army trainee in England, a nationally recognized debater, an NCC cadet, and much more.
The viral clip is from Shekhar Suman's old talk show Movers and Shakers. It shows Shekhar getting awestruck by Madhavan's qualifications as he reads out his dossier, 'Scholarship to Canada as a cultural ambassador, then Japan, then teaching in Kolhapur, graduation in electronics, best cadet in NCC, training with the Royal Army in England, national championship in public speaking. Then you come to Bombay to teach public speaking and personality development for 20 days and then somehow you become an actor.'
Saurabh Shukla, who was also a guest on the talk show, quipped, 'Ye Madhavan hai ki James Bond.' Being his humble self, Madhavan simply responded, 'It seems impressive on paper but I just lived it. I just went from one place to another.'
Then Madhavan recalled how he became an actor. He shared, 'My student came to me and said that if you act in films you will get money and you can set up your office here. I had a few photos of myself and dropped them at Zee TV office. I got a call later to play a role and they asked me to play the role of a convict. I was like, 'Is there no other role?' But they said that they will give me Rs 2500 per day and I didn't know acting at that time but I agreed to do it.'
R Madhavan started his career in television and then moved on to Tamil films. Hits like Alai Payuthey (2000) catapulted him to stardom. In Hindi cinema, he made a successful debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, which became an instant hit and later became a cult classic. He went on to make a name for himself in the Hindi film industry with films like Rang De Basanti (2006), Guru (2007), 3 Idiots (2009), and more.
Currently, Madhavan has three films in the pipeline — romantic drama Aap Jaisa Koi, spy thriller Dhurandhar, and Tamil film Adhirshtasaali.
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