R Madhavan@56; filmed '3 Idiots' scene after drinking alcohol:Father cried when he didn't get admission in college; unknown facts about 'RHTDM' actor

R. Madhavan, who has delivered powerful performances in films like 3 Idiots, Dhurundhar, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, Tanu Weds Manu, and Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, is regarded as one of the most talented, down-to-earth, and versatile actors in both Bollywood and South Indian cinema. R Madhavan's portrayal of Farhan's character in '3 Idiots' and his dialogue 'Abba Nahi Manenge' (Father won't agree) remains popular in memes on social media even today. However, few people know that Farhan's character was closely connected to Madhavan's real life. In real life, too, he had told his father that he didn't know what he wanted to become, but he didn't want to become an engineer. This was the reason why Farhan's character's emotions and struggles appeared so natural on screen. Today R Madhavan has turned 56 years old. On the special occasion of his birthday, let's know some stories from his life- Wanted to join the army R Madhavan was born on June 1, 1970, in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand (then Bihar) into a Tamil Brahmin family. His father was a management executive at Tata Steel and his mother was a manager at Bank of India. During college, Madhavan participated in NCC and represented India in several programs. He also trained with the British Army, Navy and Air Force. He wanted to join the Indian Army, but by the time he completed his training and returned, he was just 6 months over the prescribed age limit for Short Service Commission (SSC) and due to regulations, he could not join the army. Madhavan told his father - I don't want to do engineering R Madhavan was very sharp in extra-curricular activities, NCC and communication, but was an average student when it came to studies. Madhavan had told Ranveer Allahbadia in an interview, 'I failed in 8th grade. I got 39% in Maths. The school didn't let me go to the next class.' The actor had revealed that his parents were very upset about this. Coming from a South Indian family, his parents wanted their son to become an engineer, get a job at Tata Steel and live a stable life. He had said, 'My parents thought I wouldn't be able to do anything in life. They were afraid that I wouldn't even get married.' Later when Madhavan didn't get admission in engineering college, his father was devastated. Madhavan had revealed that there were tears in his father's eyes. Madhavan had said, 'Father asked me - what have I done wrong with you? What do you want to do?' To this he said, he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to do engineering. Married his student R Madhavan and his wife Sarita Birje's love story is no less than a film script. The interesting thing is that the girl Madhavan eventually married was once his student. When Madhavan was doing his graduation in BSc in Kolhapur, during this time he started a public speaking course. In those days, his classes in Kolhapur were quite famous. Madhavan and Sarita's first meeting also happened during these classes. In 'The Bombay Journey', Madhavan had said, 'She (Sarita) had come to Kolhapur to meet her cousin. Her cousin used to study in my classes.' After this, Sarita also became R Madhavan's student and took public speaking classes from him. After the course ended, Sarita became an air hostess. She credited Madhavan's classes as the reason behind this. After this, she invited Madhavan for dinner. Following this, their love story began and later both got married. When Mani Ratnam called, thought friends were joking R Madhavan started his acting career with TV serials. He worked in shows like 'Banegi Apni Baat', 'Ghar Jamai', 'Sea Hawks' and 'Aahat'. His big break in films came with director Mani Ratnam's film 'Alaipayuthey'. There is also an interesting story related to Mani Ratnam. Actually, in the 90s, Madhavan was shooting an advertisement with cinematographer Santosh Sivan. During that time, Santosh had shown some of his pictures to Mani Ratnam. After this, Mani Ratnam called Madhavan for his film 'Iruvar'. When he was told on the call that Mani Ratnam was speaking, Madhavan thought his friends were joking, so he hung up the phone. After this, Mani Ratnam called once again. This time he started speaking in Tamil. Then he was convinced that it was indeed Mani Ratnam, because his friends couldn't speak Tamil. Mani Ratnam spoke with Madhavan, called him for an audition, but rejected him for the film. Saying that his eyes looked too young, so he didn't fit that role. However, he promised that they would definitely work together in the future. Mani Ratnam cast Madhavan in his film 'Alaipayuthey'. R Madhavan's career as a lead role started with this very film. The film proved to be a blockbuster and he became a star. A Hindi remake of this film was made under the name 'Saathiya'. Drank alcohol to make the drinking scene look real The film '3 Idiots' is counted among R Madhavan's most famous films. His role as Farhan is very famous even in today's generation and many memes have been made on it. To make the drinking scene in this film look realistic, all three actors Aamir Khan, R Madhavan and Sharman Joshi actually drank alcohol. Madhavan had revealed on Ranveer Allahbadia's podcast that this was Aamir Khan's idea. He believed that rather than acting drunk, it's better to actually drink a little, because when truly intoxicated, a person tries to act normal. Madhavan had said, 'Aamir's point was never act like a drunk person. Try to act normal after drinking, only then will it look real.' The three planned to have 3-4 pegs before shooting and then shoot the scene, but then there was a technical problem during shooting and the shoot got delayed by 2 hours. Madhavan had laughingly revealed, 'We thought we needed to maintain the same level of alcohol in our body, so we kept drinking, but we didn't know that Bangalore's cold air would increase the effect of alcohol so much.' He had said, 'When the shoot started, we felt we were completely normal, but in reality it was taking hours to say each dialogue.' Madhavan even got his teeth removed for 'Rocketry' 'Rocketry: The Nambi Effect' was not just R Madhavan's film, it was his passion. Madhavan completely transformed himself to play the role of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the film. Nowadays, most actors use prosthetic makeup to change their age in films, but Madhavan did not choose the easy path. He had told Lallantop in an interview that he had to show looks ranging from 29 years to 80 years in the film and for this he did not use any prosthetics. Madhavan had said, 'We didn't use any prosthetics. I actually gained weight, lost weight, grew my hair.' The most painful transformation was of his teeth. Madhavan had revealed that to look like Nambi Narayanan, he had even changed the structure of his teeth. He had said- 'I got my teeth crooked. It took them a year and a half to get back to normal.' Shah Rukh Khan worked for free in 'Rocketry' Shah Rukh Khan did a cameo in the film 'Rocketry' and did not charge any fee for it. Madhavan had revealed that at that time he was working with Shah Rukh in the film 'Zero'. During that period, on Shah Rukh's birthday, he narrated the story of 'Rocketry' to him. In an interview with Lallantop, Madhavan had said, 'Shah Rukh told me - Maddy, I want to be a part of your film.' Madhavan initially thought Shah Rukh was joking. He hugged him, said thank you and ended the conversation. But Shah Rukh was serious. Madhavan had said, 'He said - No yaar, I'm serious. Make me do anything, make me stand in the background, but I want to be a part of your film.' A few days later, Madhavan's wife Sarita pointed out to him that Shah Rukh had spoken so lovingly, he should at least message him. After this, Madhavan messaged Shah Rukh's manager. The actor had said, 'The reply came immediately - Shah Rukh is asking, when should I give the dates?' Madhavan still couldn't believe it. He had thought that perhaps it was just said to be polite, but Shah Rukh took out full time and did the shooting. Madhavan had said, 'Shah Rukh came with his entire team. He even hired a separate writer to understand the dialogues. He didn't take a single penny from me.' Madhavan shifted to Dubai for his son's career R Madhavan's son Vedant Madhavan has chosen swimming as his career. Representing India at the national level, he has won 5 gold and 2 silver medals. Madhavan decided to shift to Dubai due to his son Vedant's career. Actually, Vedant was taking professional swimming training. Then COVID came, and swimming pools in India were closed. In a conversation with Ranvijay Singh, Madhavan had said, 'I had read long ago that the age of 9 to 15 years is the growth spurt period for children. That's when they need the most exercise and physical training.' He had said, 'Unfortunately or fortunately, Vedant's growth spurt came during COVID. All the pools in India were closed, so we were very worried.' Madhavan had revealed that one day, his wife Sarita decided that they couldn't wait any longer. He had said, 'My wife said - enough is enough. The pools in Dubai are open. She went to Dubai alone with Vedant in August 2020.' Madhavan had shared that some time later, he also went to Dubai and settled there with his family. There, Vedant trained intensively, and it was during that time that he started winning medals for India. R Madhavan rejected a paan masala advertisement Today, where many big stars are seen promoting paan masala and gutkha brands, Madhavan rejected an offer worth crores of rupees simply because he did not want to send the wrong message to his audience. Actually, a big paan masala company was looking for a new face for their brand. The company wanted Madhavan to promote it. He was offered a large sum for this, but Madhavan clearly refused. According to an India Today report, Madhavan believed that being a public figure, his responsibility is not just to earn money, but also to understand the impact on people.