'Do I Allow Vedaant To Enjoy Privilege Or Let Him Earn Medals?' R Madhavan On His Biggest Worry As A Father

R Madhavan's son, Vedaant Madhavan, is all set to lead India's 12-member swimming team at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, alongside two-time Olympians Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash. Recently, in an interview with a media outlet, Madhavan opened up about his parenting style, the values he has instilled in his son, and Vedaant's disciplined lifestyle.

What Madhavan Said

Madhavan told The Hindu, "I am a celebrity, he is a celebrity child. He has also done his bit of achievements that make him popular, and it gets enhanced through the fact that he's my son. For the most part, I tell him that he has far more opportunities than a normal child because people know about him, and he can become news very quickly if he doesn't know how to keep his ducks in a row."

Speaking about how he keeps his son grounded, the 3 Idiots star said, "So, I keep reminding him that it's reflected glory. Sometimes, you do get used to the attention. He gets treated like a celebrity at times. I said, 'That's going to be very short-lived'. Sometimes, you do stupid things while trying to get it back, make it come back."

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Shedding light on his fatherhood journey, he said, "As a father, I am as nervous and prone to making mistakes as any other parent. We always want the best for our child. We always go to great lengths to make that happen, but we also want to know where to draw the line. Where does parenting end and privilege start?"

"It is an important line for me to identify every time. Sometimes, that worries me the most. Do I allow him to enjoy the privilege or let him go and earn his medals on his own? If I'm pushing him hard, am I putting him in danger or am I actually doing what is right? So, questions and doubts, that's all part of being a parent."

Madhavan said he treats Vedaant like an adult and explained, "He is 20 years old, so he is pretty much an adult. I have always treated him as an adult from the time he was five years old. He wasn't prone to childish cajoling at all. We would take his opinion and then tell him why we were not taking his suggestion. He would understand." To note, Vedaant turned 21 on August 21. 

"Right now, handling him is not as important as how we both try to face the challenges that lie ahead of him. The Olympics is coming, so he is doing his very best, but he is still very far off the mark right now. So, what do we need to do differently to make sure that he's able to catch up with world standards and see if he can win a medal for India? Those are the conversations we have. We are looking at science and other technologies that help swimmers, what needs to be done, and what we can possibly do within our limits. That's largely where the conversation is."

He also shared details about Vedaant's disciplined lifestyle. "He's thankfully a sportsman. So, he goes to sleep at 8.00 pm and gets up at 4.00 am. In between those hours is when all the things go wrong, so that is taken care of. He is doing well. He is still swimming for the country. There are a lot of swimmers better than him who need more attention, but we are doing our best to see how that can happen as well," said the actor. 

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