New Delhi: R. Madhavan was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award on Tuesday by President Droupadi Murmu for his work in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu film industries. Before becoming the Maddy of India’s silver screen, he was doing soap operas in 1993. He played a crook in one of the episodes of Yule Love Story. The drama did not follow the same storyline, as every episode was new, with new faces playing new characters, but the theme remained teenage love stories.
When he played a negative role the same year gave him his break with Banegi Apni Baat, alongside actors Irrfan Khan and Shefali Shah. The show established Madhavan’s lover-boy image. The episodes were based on college life, love, and how teenagers transition into people sitting in office cubicles. Madhavan used to play Ashley Alexander, a lover boy, who in the final episode gets married to his love Radha, played by Surekha Suri.
Then he entered the comedy genre with Ghar Jamai in 1997. Madhavan played the main lead, Malayatoor Subramaniam Namboodiripad, in short, Subbu. He starred alongside Satish Shah and Mandira Bedi. The serial explored the love-hate relationship between a Tamil son-in-law (Subbu) and a Punjabi businessman played by Satish Shah.
His television journey was followed by other series such as Saaya (1998) and Aarohan, where he became an Indian Navy officer. Maddy also became a television host for the game show Tol Mol Ke Bol in the 1990s, alongside Mini Mathur.
Also read: Obsession director Curry Barker is shocked with his film’s India success
Before the big Bollywood break
The actor landed a role in a Fred Olen Ray-directed English film, Inferno (1997). The story is about an Interpol officer who travels to India to avenge his partner’s death. Madhavan played Ravi and acted in the portions of the film shot in India.
Then Madhavan got his big break, working with director Mani Ratnam on Alai Payuthey, released in 2000. Madhavan played the character of Karthik, who is experiencing difficulties in his marriage. His performance in the film got him his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Tamil.
His first breakthrough in Bollywood came with the Hindi remake of his Tamil film Minnale, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein (2001). The film was written and directed by Gautam Vasudev Menon. In the film, Madhavan reprised his role from the Tamil version. The film also stars Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan.
Then came his directorial era with Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), in which he played the character of Nambi Narayanan. Last in 2026, he was seen in Dhrurandhar, playing the character of Ajay Sanyal, an Indian intelligence chief.