- R Madhavan questioned why being "overly Indian" is considered wrong in films like Dhurandhar
- He denied Dhurandhar being propaganda, highlighting its balanced portrayal including Pakistan
- Madhavan emphasized portraying true character traits in Rocketry and GDN films
Despite Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar and its sequel Dhurandhar: The Revenge having a successful run at the theatres, the films opened to polarised reviews. While some lauded the spy-action thriller, a certain section criticised the films as propaganda vehicles that allegedly attempted to whitewash the government's missteps.
R Madhavan, who played a crucial role in the film, responded to the criticisms and questioned why it is wrong to be seen as Indian. During an interview with Galatta Plus, he shared his views on Dhurandhar getting the “propaganda” label, as well as spoke about his directorial debut, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect.
“I don't understand how being an Indian can be seen as a wrong thing. What does it mean by ‘being overly Indian'? I don't know. Is it not okay to show myself as being ‘too Indian'? I don't know. That's not my conditioning; I showed that. This is not even a political statement. Dhurandhar was based in Pakistan. Good and bad things happen there as well, just as much as they do in India. So, I don't understand what the ‘propaganda' in it is,” R Madhavan shared.
He continued, “In Nambi sir's (Nambi Narayanan) case, I only showed what happened in his life. How can I be honest with the story if I am afraid to show who he really is? He is a person who goes to the temple. GD Naidu (inventor and engineer), on the other hand, is a nastik (atheist). So, we can't show such things in the movie. I have to be true to that character. Because of that, one can't say that I don't believe in God or vice versa. I am an actor, and my job is to portray things as they are. My personal opinion is that I want to enhance all the good things about India. That cannot be a crime.”
The actor also admitted that from a young age, he was taught that our country is the most important thing, as well as what we do for it. “If you look at my social media posts or interviews, you can see that I have never spoken ill of any political party, politician, or leader,” he shared.
Talking about how he distinguishes between relevant and irrelevant criticism, Madhavan shared, “Look at their comment first, and then find out when they created their account, and how many followers they have. Through these steps, one can easily figure out if it's a bot or a paid account.”
R Madhavan's recent film GDN is currently running in theatres. Directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar, it is a biopic of inventor and engineer GD Naidu. Alongside Madhavan, the film also features Sathyaraj, Jayaram, Priyamani and Dushara Vijayan in other prominent roles.
