- R Madhavan took a four-year break from acting starting in 2011 due to disillusionment with his work
- He returned in 2016 with Saala Khadoos, marking a new phase in his career
- During his break, Madhavan travelled and engaged with everyday people to gain authentic insights
R Madhavan is on a roll. From his power-packed acting in Dhurandhar to his OTT venture Aap Jaisa Koi, Madhavan 2.0 has been making all the right noise. But there was a time when Madhavan took a four-year break from acting, only to return with more conviction and clarity about his future goals.
Walking down memory lane, Madhavan opened up about the chapter that made him quit acting in 2011.
"Vikram Vedha happened to me after a sabbatical. Before Saala Khadoos, I had to take a break because I was very disillusioned with the kind of work I was doing. I was shooting in Switzerland with orange pants and a green shirt for a Tamil song. I was in the middle of the road, and I saw this Swiss farmer sitting there, looking at us with complete disdain—sipping a cup of tea and thinking about what we were doing. I looked at him and thought, 'You come to Chennai, and I'll show you who I am,'" Madhavan told Unfiltered Entertainment.
In 2016, he made a comeback with Saala Khadoos and carved his path in a different way than earlier.
The actor continued, "I was really offended, but then it struck me suddenly. I am literally dancing to other people's tunes. I am a public speaker; I know how to handle a gun, fly remote planes, ride horses—I do so many things. I am showing none of it in my movies. The only thing I was trying to do was woo the audience, which would make me a superstar. I realised the mistake I was making."
Madhavan reflected on his choices and felt there was a gap between the characters offered to him and the reality of those characters. So, during the break, Madhavan travelled and tried to grasp the authenticity of characters rooted in the real world.
"So, I took a break. I wanted to understand where the country was going. I even stopped doing ad films, grew a beard, travelled a lot around Chennai and other places in India. I talked to rickshaw guys—what really matters to them, what's the real cost of stuff that bothers them. That insight from those four years is probably what I'm living off right now."
Madhavan also made his debut as a director with Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (2022), which brought him a National Award. This year, he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri on the eve of Republic Day.