Q&A: R. MADHAVAN

R. Madhavan, actor, on what it means to be an icon, his childhood dreams, and the curse of greatness

Q. You’re hosting National Geographic’s new series Mega Icons. What interested you about the project?

These icons have faced challenges and made exceptional achievements out of their situations. With this series, we are studying whether these personalities—Virat Kohli, the Dalai Lama or Kamal Haasan and more— were born to be different or turned out the way they did as a result of their conditioning. This is a question that I have always asked myself too.

Q. What fascinated you the most about these people? Who would you say is an all-time inspiration?

A child-like enthusiasm to learn from anybody and at any time is what inspired me. I am in awe of people who make the sustained effort required to stay relevant at a senior age too, like Mr (Amitabh) Bachchan.

Q. A childhood dream?

To sum them up, if I entered a room full of people, everybody had to turn and look at me.

Q. When did you know that you wanted to be an actor?

I started to take the opportunities coming my way without putting any hurdles in my mind. My debut was with Mani Ratnam in 2000. That was probably a clear-cut sign that I had become an actor.

Q. What would you say stands in the way of one’s greatness?

I think the biggest curse is to not realise your full potential when your time is done, and more so, knowing that you did not do it because of your own lack of belief in your abilities. I would add, blending with the crowd for the sake of your safety.

—with Mona Ramavat