Madhavan is a popular Indian actor, television host and movie producer who has acquired fame for his versatile roles highlighting his pan-Indian approach in innumerable films in seven languages. His acting has earned him accolades including an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards as well as a Filmfare Awards, besides some nominations. Unlike the other actors he commenced acting following his marriage. R. Madhavan was a PETA supporter in the country and has participated in various PETA programmes arranged for its promotion. He was named PETA India`s `Person of the Year` 2012. Leukos Films is the production organisation which is owned by the actor who had produced his movie `Evano Oruvan` in the year 2006. This talented filmstar has also made his presence felt as a brand ambassador for beauty products, a soft drinks company and mobile phone network. His advertisements which paired him with the versatile actress Vidya Balan were welcomed with critical acclaim and helped them win some film offers.

Early Life of Madhavan
R. Madhavan was born on 1st June, 1970 as Madhavan Balaji Ranganathan in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand to Saroja and his father Ranganathan, who were Tamils. Saroja was a manager in Bank of India while Ranganathan rendered his services to Tata Steel as a management executive. Devika, his sister worked as a software engineer in United Kingdom. Madhavan was selected as the cultural ambassador of the country during 1988, from Kolhapur`s Rajaram College following his graduation in the sphere of Electronics.

He received the Maharashtra NCC Best Cadet award when he was 22 and thus earned the golden opportunity of travelling to England as NCC Cadet with seven others. This enabled Madhavan to obtain training with the Air Force, Royal Army and the Indian Navy. However, he missed the cut-off age by six months and lost this chance. Thereafter, he took courses in public speaking and won the Indian Championship for Public Speaking which helped him visit Tokyo, Japan as an Indian representative at the Young Businessmen Conference in the year 1992. His course in this arena went a long way in securing his firm launch-pad in the Indian movie industry.

Career of Madhavan
Madhavan appeared in Santosh Shivan`s sandalwood talc advertisement during 1996 and was recommended for a screen test in the movie `Iruvar` directed by Mani Ratnam. He was rejected due to his youthful looks and so he starred in several Hindi television serials. His debut as a serial actor was in `Yule Love Stories` after which he appeared as lead actor in `Tol Mol Ke Bol`, `Ghar Jamai` and `Banegi Apni Baat`, all of which were aired on Zee TV. `Saaya`, a television show enhanced his popularity while `Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin` was his debut feature film. Madhavan made his debutant in acting career `Inferno`, 1997. His first chance in Indian film was `Shanti Shanti Shanti`, a Kannada film. But the film failed to make a mark in the box office. In the flick he played the second lead while the main lead was played by Abbas. `Alaipayuthey` (1999), Madhavan`s second Indian film became a blockbuster upon release and earned positive reviews from critics. In Alaipayuthey Madhavan played the role of a married man who confronts complications in his married life. The film went on to become a cult film that dealt with relationships. Alaipayuthey was received well by both critics and audiences. The film was remade in Hindi by Mani Ratnam starring Rani Mukherjee and Vivek Oberoi and was titled `Saathiya`.

Next was `Ennavale` (2001) in Tamil. But the film did not fare well at the box office and Madhavan was criticised by the critics for his choice of roles. However his next project, `Minnale` (2001) once again reaffirmed his status as a brilliant actor. Madhavan starred opposite Reema Sen in Minnale. It was later remade into Hindi as `Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein` with Dia Mirza. It marked Madhavan`s debut in Bollywood films. He was also part of Madras Talkies `Dumm Dumm Dumm` (2001). Both these films were runaway hits and Madhavan was the heart-throb of millions. Armed with boyish charms, good looks, appealing smile and smart appearance Madhavan is the most sought after star today in the Indian film industry. He has always successfully shuffled his career between the south Indian film industry and Bollywood.

His acting prowess gave him the opportunity to work with the legendary director, K. Balachander, in the film `Parthale Paravasam` (2001). Even this movie was unsuccessful. The next film for Madhavan was a Mani Ratnam production, `Kannathil Muthamittal` (2002) and is considered a cult film in Tamil cinema which received six National Awards and various other awards at different International Film Festivals. Madhavan`s first action film was `Run` in 2003. This film was a success too. After Run, Madhavan appeared in `Anbe Sivam` (2003). The film was widely acclaimed and critically analyzed. `Nala Damayanthi` and Vikraman`s `Priyamana Thozhi` followed but these did not succeed commercially. However Madhavan`s performances in these roles were widely appreciated. Two more average films, `Jay Jay` (2003) and `Aethiree` (2004), followed.

Initially in 2004 Madhavan acted in films like `Nothing But Life`, and the critically acclaimed `Aayutha Ezhuthu`. Besides Madhavan the film starred Surya Sivakumar, Siddharth Narayan, Meera Jasmine and Trisha Krishnan. Madhavan portrays the role of a henchman in the film. `Priyasakhi` (2005) was the first Tamil film to be dubbed in Zulu. Madhavan made a comeback to Hindi movie industry with the comedy film `Ramji Londonwale` which was a remake of the movie Nala Damayanthi. The year 2006 was prolific for Madhavan. He had three hit films that year: `Rang de Basanti`, `Thambi` and `Rendu`. Rendu proved to be the biggest hit in Madhavan`s career. After this a string of films followed including `Guru` (2007). His role in the movie Evano Oruvan was appreciated largely and made him win the ITFA Best Actor Award which was promoted by Leukos Films, his production company. Madhavan received recognition for depicting himself as an engineer in horror movies of Vikram Kumar, like `13B` or its Tamil version `Yavarum Nalam` helped him receive the Vijay Award for Best Actor. Some of his other notable movies involve `Guru En Aalu` (2009), `Sikander` (2009), `3 Idiots` (2009). The actor was nominated for the IIFA Best Supporting Actor Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He enacted the role of an intelligent doctor in the movie `Tanu Weds Manu` (2011) with co-star Kangna Ranaut and the movie enabled him to win extremely positive feedback regarding his action. Madhavan signed his debut Hollywood feature film named `Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D` in July 2013 which was produced by Simon West.

Madhavan as Television Host
Besides several successful ventures in the Indian movie industry, Madhavan has also proved his capability as a television host for programmes including `Deal Ya No Deal`, which is a native version of `Deal Or No Deal`, an American show in Sony Entertainment during 2005, etc. He has also hosted the National Film Awards along with Indian movie actress Huma Qureshi in the year 2013 and the 55th Filmfare Awards South in the year 2008 in Chennai. He has also been observed hosting the Vijay Awards in 2013.

Personal Life of Madhavan
Though Madhavan was keen on being a part of the Indian Army, he was compelled to pursue a degree course in Electronics on his parents` insistence, which he accomplished by joining a management school. After he achieved his degree, he started imparting lessons on public speaking and communication at various workshops across the country. His passions involve aero-modelling which is said to have motivated him to study Electronics. Prior to his entry into mainstream movies as a romantic actor, Madhavan tied the knot with Sarita Birje who was an air-hostess and they have a young son named Vedant.

Filmography of Madhavan