R Madhavan is an Indian actor, producer, and writer, who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He also featured in other language films like Hindi, English, Malayalam, and Telugu. He made his film debut with Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin. He made his Hollywood debut with Inferno in 1997 and his Kannada debut with Shanti Shanti Shanti in 1998. In the year 2000, he made his debut Tamil movie Alaipayuthey. He was appointed as the new president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) after he won the National Award for his directional debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.
Biography
Name
Madhavan
Real Name
Madhavan Balaji Ranganathan
Nickname
Maddy
Profession
Actor, Director, Writer, Television Host, Producer
Then in the year 1988, he gained a scholarship to represent India as a cultural ambassador from Rajaram College, Kolhapur, With that, he spent a year in Stettler, Alberta, Canada which is a part of his exchange program with Rotary International.
During his college days, he was involved in extra-curricular military training, and at the age of 22, he was recognized as a leading NCC cadet in Maharashtra.
He started his acting career in the television industry with guest appearances in the prime-time soap opera Banegi Apni Baat which was aired on Zee TV in 1996.
Then he appeared in some commercials and in small roles, and he gained recognition from the Tamil movie Alaipayuthey.
Then he was soon imaged as a romantic hero with the two notable Tamil films Gautham Menon’s directorial debut Minnale and Madras Talkies’ Dumm Dumm Dumm.
Apart from acting he worked as a writer on his films.
Moreover, he also worked as a film producer, his first production movie was Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films.
In 2016 he produced Saala Khadoos. He is quite notable for his philanthropic activities, with that, he promotes various causes such as environment, health, and education.
His Instagram account has over 4.3M followers (as of September 2023).
Movies
Year
Title
Role(s)
Language(s)
Notes
1996
Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin
Club singer
Hindi
Uncredited role in the song "Chup Tum Raho"
1997
Inferno
Ravi
English
1998
Shanti Shanti Shanti
Siddhartha
Kannada
2000
Alaipayuthey
Karthik Varadharajan
Tamil
2000
Ennavale
James Vasanth
Tamil
2001
Minnale
Rajesh Shivakumar
Tamil
2001
Dumm Dumm Dumm
Aditya
Tamil
2001
Paarthale Paravasam
Madhava
Tamil
2001
Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein
Madhav Shastri
Hindi
2002
Kannathil Muthamittal
Thiruchelvan
Tamil
2002
Run
Siva
Tamil
2002
Dil Vil Pyar Vyar
Krish
Hindi
2002
Anbe Sivam
Anbarasu
Tamil
2003
Nala Damayanthi
Ramji Narayanaswami Iyer
Tamil
2003
Lesa Lesa
Deva Narayanan
Tamil
Guest appearance
2003
Priyamaana Thozhi
Ashok
Tamil
2003
Jay Jay
Jagan
Tamil
2004
Aethirree
Subramani
Tamil
2004
Aaytha Ezhuthu
Inbasekar
Tamil
2004
Nothing But Life
Thomas Roberts
English
Bilingual film
2004
Made In USA
Thomas Roberts
Malayalam
Bilingual film
2005
Priyasakhi
Sandhana Krishnan
Tamil
2005
Ramji Londonwaley
Ramnarayan Tiwari
Hindi
2006
Rang De Basanti
Ajay Rathod
Hindi
2006
Thambi
Thambi Velu Thondaiman
Tamil
2006
Rendu
Sakthi/Kannan[a]
Tamil
2007
Guru
Shyam Saxena
Hindi
2007
That Four-Letter Word
Himself
English
Guest appearance
2007
Delhii Heights
Himself
Hindi
Guest appearance
2007
Aarya
Aarya
Tamil
2007
Evano Oruvan
Sridhar Vasudevan
Tamil
2008
Halla Bol
Himself
Hindi
Guest appearance
2008
Vaazhthugal
Kadhiravan
Tamil
2008
Mumbai Meri Jaan
Nikhil Agarwal
Hindi
2008
Tipu Kanan Tipu Kiri
Himself
Malay
Guest appearance
2009
Yavarum Nalam
R. Manohar
Tamil
Bilingual film
2009
13B
R. Manohar
Hindi
Bilingual film
2009
Guru En Aalu
Guru
Tamil
2009
Sikandar
Rajesh Rao
Hindi
2009
3 Idiots
Farhan Qureshi
Hindi
2010
Om Shanti
Maddy
Telugu
Guest appearance
2010
Teen Patti
Shantanu Biswas
Hindi
2010
Jhootha Hi Sahi
Kabir
Hindi
Guest appearance
2010
Manmadan Ambu
Madanagopal
Tamil
2011
Tanu Weds Manu
Manoj Kumar Sharma (Manu)
Hindi
2012
Vettai
Thirumurthy
Tamil
2012
Jodi Breakers
Siddharth Khanna
Hindi
2013
Taak Jhaank
Sanjay
Hindi
2014
Akeli
Avinash
Hindi
2015
Tanu Weds Manu: Returns
Manoj Kumar Sharma (Manu)
Hindi
2015
Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn
Tom
English
2016
Irudhi Suttru
Prabhu Selvaraj
Tamil
Bilingual film
2016
Saala Khadoos
Adi Tomar
Hindi
Bilingual film
2017
Vikram Vedha
Vikram
Tamil
2017
Magalir Mattum
Surendhar Silkurayappan
Tamil
Guest appearance
2018
Savyasachi
Arun Raj Varma
Telugu
2018
Zero
Kartik Srinivasan
Hindi
Guest appearance
2020
Nishabdham
Anthony Gonsalves
Telugu
Bilingual film
2020
Silence
Anthony Gonsalves
Tamil
Bilingual film
2021
Maara
Manimaaran (Maara)
Tamil
2022
Meri Awas Suno
Major
Malayalam
Voiceover
2022
Rocketry The Nambi Effect
Nambi Narayanan
Tamil, English, Hindi
2022
Dhokha Round D Corner
Yathaarth Sinha
Hindi
2023
Amriki Pandit
Purab
Hindi
Completed
2023
Untitled Mithran R Jawahar's Next
TBA
Hindi
Filming
2023
Test
TBA
Tamil
Filming
2024
Untitled C Sankaran Nair Biopic
TBA
Tamil
Filming
2024
Untitled Vash Remake
TBA
Hindi
Filming
TBA
Untitled G.D. Naidu Biopic
TBA
Tamil
Announced
Other Crew Positions
Year
Film
Position
Language
Notes
2005
Ramji Londonwaley
Screenwriter
Hindi
2007
Evano Oruvan
Producer, dialogue writer
Tamil
2016
Saala Khadoos
Producer
Hindi
2020
Putham Pudhu Kaalai
Narrator
Tamil
Voiceover in Ilamai Idho Idho segment
2020
Soorarai Pottru
Narrator
Tamil
Voiceover in credits scene
2022
Rocketry
Director, producer, screenwriter
English
2022
Rocketry
Director, producer, screenwriter
Tamil
2022
Rocketry
Director, producer, screenwriter
Hindi
Television
Web Series
Year
Title
Role
Language
Network
2018
Breathe
Denzel Mascarenhas (Danny)
Hindi
Amazon Prime Video
2021
Decoupled
Arya Iyer
Hindi
Netflix
2022
The Railway Men
TBA
Hindi
TBA
Documentaries
Film
Year
Role
Language
Network
2008
Herova? Zerova?
Himself
Tamil
Tamil Nadu Department of Higher Education
2011
Big In Bollywood
Himself
English
Cinterra Entertainment
2018
Mega Icons
Host
English
National Geographic
2021
India's Space Odyssey
Narrator
Hindi
Discovery+
Television Series
Year
Title
Role
Language
Network
1993
Yule Love Story
Crook
Hindi
Zee TV
1993 – 1997
Banegi Apni Baat
Ashley
Hindi
Zee TV
1995
A Mouthful of Sky
English
DD National
1995
Suhana Safar
Hindi
Zee TV
1996
Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum
Raj Parmar
Hindi
Zee TV
1995
Badalte Rishtey
Abhilash Verma
Hindi
DD National
1996
Hum Dono
Rahul
Hindi
Sahara One
1995 – 1996
Aarohan
Shammi
Hindi
DD National
1996
Aahat
Raj
Hindi
Sony Entertainment Television
1997
Raj Kahani
Aditya / Mungi[b]
Hindi
DD National
1997
Neeyat
Hindi
Zee TV
1997
Jeene Bhi Do Yaaro
Hindi
Sony SAB
1997 – 1998
Ghar Jamai
Subodh
Hindi
Zee TV
1997 – 1998
Sea Hawks
Preet
Hindi
DD Metro
1997
Kabhie Kabhie
Hindi
Star Plus
1998
Saaya
Shekhar
Hindi
Sony Entertainment Television
2000
Rishtey
Sameer
Hindi
Zee TV
2009
CID
Himself
Hindi
Sony Entertainment Television
2023
The Railway Men
TBA
Hindi
Television Shows
Year
Title
Role
Language
Network
Notes
1997
Tol Mol Ke Bol
Host
Hindi
Zee TV
Game show
2005 – 2006
Deal Ya No Deal
Host
Hindi
Sony Entertainment Television
Game show
2010
Big Money
Host
Hindi
Imagine TV
Game show
2018
The Final Table
Judge
English
Netflix
Episode 5; Cooking show
Awards
2000 – Filmfare Award For Best Male Debut – South for Alaipayuthey
2002 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award For Best Actor for Run, Kannathil Muthamittal & Anbe Sivam
2003 – ITFA Best Supporting Actor Award for Anbe Sivam
2004 – Filmfare Award For Best Supporting Actor – Tamil for Aaytha Ezhuthu
2016 – Filmfare Award For Best Actor – Tamil for Irudhi Suttru
2016 – SIIMA Award for Best Actor (Critics) – Tamil for Irudhi Suttru
2016 – IIFA Utsavam Award For Best Actor – Tamil for Irudhi Suttru
2017 – Filmfare Award For Best Actor (Critics) – South for Vikram Vedha
2017 – SIIMA Award For Best Actor – Tamil for Vikram Vedha
2017 – Norway Tamil Film Festival Award For Best Actor for Vikram Vedha