‘Fans won’t forgive you if you make a horrible film’

As an actor, R Madhavan prefers associating with only those that instinctively appeal to him. That’s the reason why he doesn’t blindly sign films. The actor has two Hindi projects and a web series coming up this year.

Madhavan’s last Tamil release, Vikram Vedha, ranked first on the IMDB list of top 10 Indian films in 2017. He also got rave reviews for his performance. “My films are not just experimental but also passionately made. The content has to be better than what that is available on TV and Internet. There is no point making a great film, which is not successful in the theatres,” says the actor. So does Vikram Vedha have the potential to be remade in Hindi? “It has huge potential in any language. The chemistry that Vijay (Sethupathi) and I shared was phenomenal,” he says.

In south India, audiences adore movie stars to such a level that they even build temples in their names. What does he have to say about it? “Their intensity in terms of their acceptance of the stars is at the highest level. If the film is good, they celebrate it. They give their heroes titles; I had to beg them not to give me one. However, the level of inspiration is dropping. They won’t forgive you if you make a horrible film. I know directors whose careers have met a big bump because of that,” says the Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015) actor.

After his recent success, will he be more careful with choices? “In the last three years, I’ve done four to five films in regional and Hindi cinema. Akshay Kumar curses me saying ‘What’s your problem, why can’t you do more movies?’ I tell him, ‘I wish I was as good looking and talented as you are.’ I wish I could have regular films releasing that he has. I can’t because I’ve to design projects around my abilities and disabilities,” he says.

Actor R Madhavan