R. Madhavan

In this Indian name, the name Ranganathan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Madhavan.

R. Madhavan
Madhavan in 2016
Born
Ranganathan Madhavan[1][2]

(1970-06-01) 1 June 1970 (age 54)
Jamshedpur, Bihar (now in Jharkhand, India)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • screenwriter
  • film producer
  • film director
Years active1993–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
Sarita Birje
​
(m. 1999)​
ChildrenVedaant Madhavan
President of Film and Television Institute of India
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 September 2023
Preceded byShekhar Kapur

Ranganathan Madhavan (born 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, film producer and film director who predominantly works in Tamil and Hindi cinema. He has won one National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and five SIIMA Awards. As of 2023, Madhavan is the President of FTII, Pune.[3][4]

Madhavan attained his first break in Tamil cinema with Mani Ratnam's romantic drama Alai Payuthey (2000) and followed it with romantic roles in Gautham Vasudev Menon's directorial debut Minnale (2001) and Madras Talkies' Dumm Dumm Dumm (2001).[5][6] He had further commercial successes in Run (2002), Jay Jay (2003), Thambi (2006) and Rendu (2006) and gained praise for his performances in Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Anbe Sivam (2003), Nala Damayanthi (2003) and Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004).[7][8][9] In the mid-2000s, Madhavan inclined to Hindi films with pivotal roles in three highly successful productions: the patriotism Rang De Basanti (2006), Mani Ratnam's biopic Guru (2007) and the comedy-drama 3 Idiots (2009),[10] which went on to become the highest-grossing Indian film of all time at the time of its release. Simultaneously, he continued to appear in Tamil films like Evano Oruvan (2007) and Yavarum Nalam (2009).[11]

After delivering two box-office hits with Tanu Weds Manu (2011) and Vettai (2012), Madhavan took an acting break for 3 years and bounced back in 2015. His comeback films – the romantic comedy Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), the bilingual sports-drama Irudhi Suttru (2016) and the crime film Vikram Vedha (2017) all became critical and commercial successes.[12][13] His portrayal of a boorish boxing coach in Irudhi Suttru fetched him Best Actor awards at the Filmfare, IIFA and SIIMA ceremonies.[14][15][16] Madhavan made his directorial debut in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), in which he played the Indian rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan, which achieved universal acclaim and honours including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film.[17][18] He has since played a negative role in the highly successful supernatural thriller Shaitaan (2024).[19]

In addition to his acting career, Madhavan has worked as a writer on his films, hosted television programs and has been a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products.[20] He has also worked as a film producer, first making Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films, before setting up Tricolour Films to produce Saala Khadoos (2016). Madhavan is noted for his philanthropic activities and promotes various causes such as environment, health, and education. He is particularly vocal about the protection of animals and was awarded PETA's Person of the Year recognition in 2011. In 2021, he was conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by D. Y. Patil Education Society, Kolhapur, for his contribution to arts and cinema.[21]

  1. ^ "Ranganathan Madhavan". Twitter. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Madhavan refutes rumours about working in the Hindi remake of Bhaagamathie". The Times of India. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. ^ Kumar, Devesh (1 September 2023). "Actor R Madhavan nominated as President of FTII". Mint. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  4. ^ "R Madhavan is new FTII President, Minister Anurag Thakur congratulates him". India Today. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  5. ^ Kamath, Sudhish (27 October 2001). "More for Maddy's crowd". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Memorable flicks that made it big". The Hindu. 28 December 2001. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
  7. ^ "rediff.com: Movies: 'It's an out-and-out Madhavan film!'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  8. ^ Srihari, Gudipoodi (4 March 2003). "Worth watching". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference ezhuthu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference overseas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "BIG Pictures' 'Yaavarum Nalam' Completes 100 Days 'Yaavarum Nalam' Grosses Rs 13 Crore At The Box Office". Reliance Entertainment. 15 June 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Tanu Weds Manu Returns - Movie - Box Office India".
  13. ^ "VIKRAM VEDHA becomes R Madhavan's biggest Tamil blockbuster! – Trade News". BollywoodTrade.com. 17 August 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Winners: 64th Jio Filmfare Awards 2017 (South)". The Times of India. 19 June 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  15. ^ "I have no insecurites: R Madhavan on 'Saala Khadoos', 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' and Kangana Ranaut". FirstPost. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  16. ^ "'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' Box Office Collection: Will Kangana-Madhavan Starrer Cross ₹150 Crore and Beat Salman's Movie Record by 6th Weekend?". Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  17. ^ "Madhavan hosts Rocketry: The Nambi Effect success party". Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  18. ^ "69th National Film Awards: Allu Arjun, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, and 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' bag the honours". Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  19. ^ "A Decent First Quarter - Shaitaan Leads Classifications".
  20. ^ "Maddy's Oragadam turns out to be a hit". Sify. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  21. ^ PTI (17 February 2021). "R Madhavan receives honour for contribution to arts, cinema". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 February 2021.