When Madhavan Broke This Rule Set By His Team Before His Debut: 'Mani Sir Said Do Whatever You Want'

Actor R Madhavan made his big screen debut in Tamil with Mani Ratnam’s Alaipayuthey. Released in 2000, the film made Madhavan a star overnight. He became the poster boy of romance and his chemistry with Shalini was also praised. While the actor became the go-to boy-next-door romantic hero, the actor once revealed that it was believe he would not make it as a hero in Tamil industry because he was married.

Madhavan married his long-time girlfriend Sarita just a few months before Alaipayuthey had released. The buzz of his marriage had already caught media’s attention but Madhavan’s team was not ready to make his marriage public. The team also warns Madhavan to not confirm his marital status for his career would take a hit.

In a video shared on Reddit, Madhavan opened up about the incident and said that he approached Mani Ratnam for advice. The director did not seem to stop Madhavan from revealing the truth. “I was one of those guys people thought would never make it as a Tamil actor simply because… a very interesting story. During the release of my first film, I was coming out with a romantic film. It was a romantic film with Shalini and the PR department, when they came to brief us, said: ‘Whatever you do, Madhavan, don’t tell them that you got married four months ago.’ So I said, ‘Why?’ They said, ‘No, no, no married actor has ever made it in the film industry as a romantic hero. The girls will take an aversion for you. It is not going to work out,'” he recalled.

“I am not very comfortable with a lie and especially about a woman who’s part of my life and to ignore her and to tell the audience that she’s not my wife was not something that I was going to do at all. So I went and told Mani Ratnam, I said, ‘Mani sir, this is what they’re saying. Do you want me to comply?’ And he said, ‘You do whatever you want,'” Madhavan added.

Madhavan recalled that the first question that he was asked at the first press conference of the film was about his marriage. “So I told the media then, I said, ‘I’m very sorry that I’m going against the wishes of my PR department but I’m married. My wife’s name is Sarita, we were going around for nine years and we got married and this is it. I was told that the Tamil audiences will not accept me if I told them that I was a married actor. But you know, I am an actor. I cannot undermine or insult my wife. At the same time, I want the Tamil audiences to like my movies. So in all humility, I am married and I hope that they accept me for who I am,” he said.

The actor noted that more than the film, that line became so popular. “I became instantly popular with the ladies when the first film started,” he said.

Alaipayuthey became a massive hit in Tamil and was later remade in Hindi as Saathiya with Rani Mukerji and Vivek Oberoi.