R. Madhavan
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| R. Madhavan | |
| Birth name | Ranganathan Madhavan |
| Born | June 1, 1970 (age 36) Jamshedpur, India |
| Other name(s) | Maddy |
| Official site | www.rmadhavan.com |
| Notable roles | Karthik Kumar in Alaipayuthey (2000) Rajesh Subramaniam in Minnale (2001) Thiruchelvan in Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) Inba Sekhar in Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004) |
R. Madhavan (Tamil: மாதவன்) (b. 1 June 1970, Jamshedpur, India), also called Maddy is a prominent regional Indian film actor[1], a game show host[2], a mobile game character [3] and an active PETA campaigner [4]. He started to act in Hindi television serials and appear in advertisements and commercials before he started his film acting career. He currently acts in regional industries across India with the Tamil film industry being his main focus[5], other optional focuses being Bollywood[6], Hollywood[7], Tollywood[8], Malluwood[9], the Kannada film industry[10] and the Bengali film industry [11]. Madhavan is fondly known by his fans as the Chocolate Hero [12].
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[edit] Background
Madhavan's parents are Ranganathan[13] and Saroja[13] and he has a sister named Devika[13] . Madhavan's father, Ranganathan is an ex-army man.His mother, Saroja Ranganathan is a homemaker. Madhavan's younger sister, Devika is an aspiring model and actress. Madhavan is married to Sarita [14], a former air hostess whom he married after 3 years of courtship. They have a son Vedaant who was born in 2006. [15] Madhavan has recently moved property near the Boat Club area of Chennai from his rented house in Kilpauk.[16]Madhavan shares great rapport with several experienced actors in the industry especially Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan whom both have worked with him in several projects each.[17]Madhavan is well known for his vegetarianism and has advertised several brands. [18]
[edit] Film career
Madhavan was a popular face in Indian television even before he made his maiden film debut. He acted in Hindi television serials like Saaya, Sea Hawks, Banegi Apni Baat, and Ghar Jamai in minor and brief roles[19]. His debut in movies came in the form of Shanti Shanti Shanti, a Kannada movie also starring Abbas and Prakash Raj. The film performed well at the Kannada box-office but when it was dubbed it lowered Madhavan's status in the tamil film industry after Alaipayuthey. In 1997, Madhavan had auditioned for a part in the critically-acclaimed movie, Iruvar[20] starring Mohanlal and Aishwarya Rai and directed by Mani Ratnam. Mani Ratnam was pleased with Madhavan's capabilities but wanted a senior actor to play Madhavan's part, so Mani Ratnam confirmed Madhavan could be a part of his next project as a sorry plea. He got his first big break when Mani Ratnam introduced Madhavan to Tamil Cinema through the film Alaipayuthey produced by Madras Talkies, a tale of the relationships after marriage, he starred in the blockbuster with Shalini Kumar. His next highly-anticipated second film, Ennavale starring Sneha and dwelling on the subject of diasability flopped but Gautham Menon's debut venture, Minnale made Madhavan in level with the other major actors in Kollywood. Minnale explored the views of college enemies vying for a love after a decade without contact. The music also was a hit rendered by debutant, Harris Jayaraj. Gautham Menon and Madhavan then remade this in Bollywood as Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein with Diya Mirza and Saif Ali Khan. The film flopped at the box-office but raised business for his co-stars.
Madras Talkies's hit production Dumm Dumm Dumm with Jyothika Saravanan was then followed by veteran director K. Balachandar's 100th film, Parthale Paravasam with Simran Bagga and Sneha. Despite a big opening and high expectations, it only managed reasonable business at the box-office. Run was a landmark film for Madhavan as it won him Filmfare Best Actor Award South in the Filmfare Awards South cermony. Run, directed by Linguswamy told the simple story of a brother opposing his sister's love. The film starred Atul Kulkarni as the elder brother and National Award winner, Meera Jasmine debuted as Madhavan's lady love. Mani Ratnam chose Madhavan again with Simran Bagga in the critically acclaimed blockbuster, Kannathil Muthamittal, which explored the views of an adopted child affected in war-torn Sri Lanka. He then had a second attempt at Bollywood with the multi-starrer, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar but once again his Hindi film flopped. His next project, Anbe Sivam with Kamal Haasan did well at the box-office. It was labelled by many as one of the finest films made and his co-star, Kamal Haasan received particular praise for his infamous portrayal of a street campaigner.
R. Madhavan's following film projects such as Vikraman's Priyamana Thozhi with Jyothika Saravanan, Saran's Jay Jay with Pooja Umashankar, Reema Sen and Nisha Kothari and K. S. Ravikumar's Aethiree with Sadha all didn't receive good collections at the box-office demoting Madhavan's prestige in the industry. Madhavan was criticized for ignoring the stories of the films and just playing the lead role in them. Eventhough Priyamana Thozhi was directed by National Award winner, Vikraman, the film received a poor opening and the film lost out. The film told the story of two friends who were mistaken for lovers. Jay Jay, directed by Saran in which he was paired with then debutants, Pooja Umashankar and Nisha Kothari, only did average business. Aethiree directed by noted director, K. S. Ravikumar opposite Sadha and Kanika despite being a musical hit flopped at the box-office. Madhavan then teamed up with Nassar to act in a English film entitled Nothing But Life which was played at various International Film Festivals around Asia.
Madhavan has since come back with successful projects such as in the multi-starrer Aayitha Ezhuthu, also directed by Mani Ratnam, where he played a off-beat negative role as a fighter for a politician. Madhavan won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award South for the portrayal of the character Inba, which was played by Abhishek Bachchan in Yuva, the Bollywood remake. He had continued his success at the box-office with hits such as Priyasakhi, a family orientated film with Sadha which became the first film to be the first tamil film to be dubbed into Zulu. After approximately 8 months, off the screen, he came back with Thambi as a Mahatma Gandhi-Subash Chandra Bose figure who sacrifces his life to stop growing forms of violence. He has since boosted his chances in Bollywood with the role of Ajay Rathod in the hindi blockbuster, Rang de Basanti which was sent in as India's official entry to the Oscars. His latest movie Rendu saw him play his debut double-role, in which he played a blind in a role. The film has opened well in Chennai, Madhurai and Kuala Lumpur.
Madhavan has several projects which are forthcoming. His next project set to be released on Christmas day is set to be Mani Ratnam's Guru, which he stars along with Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan and Mallika Sherawat. In Guru, he is set to play the role of the villain as he did in Aayitha Ezhuthu. Other forthcoming projects in the shooting faze include Arya alongside Bhavana Balachandran, Ivan Yaaro a remake of a popular Marathi film co-starring with Sangeetha and being produced by the Hindi directors, Abbas Burmawalla and Mustan Burmawalla and he also has a Hindi-Bengali bilingual, Sunglass co-starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Jaya Bachchan and Raima Sen. Madhavan has also signed up to two Ram Gopal Varma production films, the first being Aaval in which he is paired with Esha Deol and Shriya Reddy and he also has Yaaravan Nalam a Tamil-Hindi bilingual which is to take off late in 2007. Another film in the waiting is Seeman's Pagalavan will give Madhavan a strong character like the one in Thambi. He has also given call sheets for films titled Arugil produced by Prathap Pothan, Vaazhthukal with Seeman for the third time, Hello Zindagi, a Hindi film paired with Tabu and Agaradhi, which he will supposedly don the khaki clothes as a police officer.
He also took part in Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai alongside many other co-stars to show his signal of thanks to his mentor, who had introduced him into the industry. He recently hosted the third season of Deal Ya No Deal on Doodarshan TV.
[edit] Game Host
R. Madhavan was announced as the host of Sony Entertainment Television's Deal Ya No Deal in October 2005 with a payment of Rs. 10 million per separate series. The show was being produced by Miditech, in association with Endemol BV. Deal Ya No Deal is a game show, testing the participant for speed, reflexes, wit, cunning and gaming skills. The contestant may win up to Rs. 10 million in a show. The contestant faces 22 cash boxes, containing cheques varying from a small amounts to Rs 10 million. Without knowing the contents, the contestant picks a single sealed box, for themselves to keep until the end of the show. It premièred on November 23, 2005 on Sony Entertainment Television and aired on three nights each week. The first series had a set similar to the UK version, and the theme song and music cues were the same as those used in the Dutch version. Contestants held the cases. There is a top prize of 1 crore rupees ($10 million), and the lowest prize was a breath freshener, called a Chlor-mint.
Madhavan quit as the lead anchor of the game show, Deal Ya No Deal in January 2006. Madhavan claimed he was unhappy with the way the shoot schedules were handled by the production house. According to the actor, when he took on the show, he had made it clear that he would continue with his South film assignments, and as the show was being filmed in Mumbai, he had found it hard to keep travelling throughout India from Chennai to film the ten days a month he had signed up for. The ever-changing look of the show meant Madhavan had to constantly rehearse. Madhavan also added that he was restricted by the producers to spend one day rehearsing technically, which left him with fatigue.
There were also some testing times, like when he shot for the show immediately after the funeral of his grandfather, when there was a celebrity special. Mandira Bedi replaced Madhavan as the anchor in February for Series 2 of the game show. Since then she has also left the set-up for personal unconfirmed reasons. He was also one of the guest judges in the Indian television show, Fame Gurukul which ended on 20 October 2005.
[edit] Mobile Gaming Character
A Mumbai based game development company, Paradox signed a worldwide contract Madhavan to create six mobile-based games based on him and his film roles. While launching the first game, Madhavan's MiG in Chennai, Madhavan expressed his delight at being involved in projects aimed at young people. The 'paper-player' model would cost Rs 5 per download, while a one-time download would range from Rs.50-99, he said. The games, which consists of three levels, would be available on Reliance, Idea and Spice mobile services.
Madhavan's MIG game will feature the actor make a reprise of his Rang De Basanti pilot role and the game will be based around basic steering of the planes. In the other game titled Madhavan, the player will have to help the actor get to the premiere of his latest movie evading the paparazzi. Paradox has been developing games for wireless devices, apart from single and multi-player games for PC, web and allied platforms since 2001. Madhavan said the concept of couple of the games had been derived from his role of a pilot in the recent Hindi blockbuster, Rang De Basanti, in which he flew an MiG 29 aircraft.
[edit] PETA Campaign
Madhavan is a campaigner for animals through PETA[21]India's new youth program. In a brand-new public service announcement he released an e-card called "Change Everything", Madhavan encourages young people to go vegetarian. Madhavan has also desired his respect for other national groups such as the GEA and the RSPCA. Madhavan has a parrot and a dog at his Kilpauk household.
Madhavan's PSA showed footage of chickens who are crammed into crowded, filthy sheds as well as the treatment of cattle during slaughter. The video contains music by international vegan star Moby and colorful photographs and quotes from other vegetarian celebrities, like Mallika Sherawat, Bryan Adams, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pamela Anderson and Anil Kumble. All these stars and Madhavan campaigned for the project.
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Further reading
- Ramaswamy, Cho (2002). Madhavan: The Chocolate Boy. Radaan. ISBN 1-57243-689-1.
[edit] References
- ^ "Madhavan introduced as a hero", Rediff, Jun 11, 2006.
- ^ "Maddie to host game show", Deccan Herald, Jun 25, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan featured in Parodax game", Sify, Jul 25, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan campaigns for PETA", Sify, Aug 14, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan profile", South Movies, Sep 21, 2006.
- ^ "It's silly to slot filmmakers", WEb India 123, Sep 21, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan in a Hollywood film...", Naachgaana, Dec 1, 2006.
- ^ "Maddy enters Telugu movies", Y! India Movies, Dec 1, 2006.
- ^ "Maddy speaks Malayalam", The Hindu, Dec 1, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan debuted in Kannadam", Rediff, Dec 1, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan replaces Sanjay Suri in 'Sunglass'", Rediff, Oct 18, 2006.
- ^ "An Actor who researches the Net", In.Rediff, Sep 21, 2006.
- ^ a b c "Madhavan's profile South Movies", WebIndia, Aug 31, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan and Sarita", WebIndia, Aug 30, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan has a baby son", WebIndia, Aug 31, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan in a new home & lifestyle game", Sify, Aug 31, 2006.
- ^ "Mani Ratnam's Golden Boy", CineScene, Sep 3, 2006.
- ^ "R. Madhavan on food and fitness", IndiaFM, Sep 18, 2006.
- ^ "I have always broken the Rules:Madhavan", Unplugged TV Guide, Oct 18, 2006.
- ^ "People remember Scenes, not episodes", Rediff, Oct 18, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan advertises for New Indian PETA Campaign", PETA-India, Sep 21, 2006.
- ^ "Tarun encounters Madhavan", Yahoo India Movies!, Nov 19, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan ready with Releases", Cinesouth, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Alibaug Film Confirmation", Bollywood.Cinema, Dec 13, 2006.
- ^ "Bollywood producers eye Kollywood", Cinesouth, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Maddy on a Top Gear", Indiavarta, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan ready with Releases", Cinesouth, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan ready with Releases", Cinesouth, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan in Hindi film 'Delhi Heights'", Indiaglitz, Nov 19, 2006.
- ^ "Madhavan's 'Delhi Heights'", Sify, Dec 07, 2006.
- ^ "Maddy on a Top Gear", Indiavarta, Nov 17, 2006.
- ^ "Sangeetha oppsite Madhavan", Indiaglitz Tamil, Nov 1, 2006.
- ^ indiafm.com. The characters from Mani Ratnam's "Guru" introduce themselves. Retrieved on 6 November 2006.
[edit] External links
| The Films of R. Madhavan |
|---|
| Shanti Shanti Shanti • Alaipayuthey • Ennavale • Minnale • Dumm Dumm Dumm • Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein • Parthale Paravasam • Run • Kannathil Muthamittal • Dil Vil Pyar Vyar • Priyamana Thozhi • Anbe Sivam • Nala Damayanthi • Leysa Leysa • Jay Jay • Nothing But Life • Aethiree • Aayitha Ezhuthu • Ramji Londonwaley • Priyasakhi • Rang de Basanti • Thambi • Rendu • Arya • Guru • Sunglass |
Categories: 1970 births | Living people | Indian actors | Tamil actors | Animal Liberation Front | Hindu actors | Game show hosts | Indian vegetarians | Indian people | Tamil people | Film actors | Kannada film actors | Malayalam actors | Tollywood | Indian television actors | Indian film actors | Indian television presenters
