Madhavan: 'I've Got My Nose Bashed In For Doing Abnormal Stuff'

'I'm on a path of self discovery through these great men. I thought that's the way I can improve myself as a human being and actor.'

R Madhavan delivers one of the finest performances of his career in GDN, the biopic of legendary inventor Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu.

In this conversation with Subhash K Jha, the actor revisits the film and says, "It's amazing how GDN is unanimously embraced by the audience. Now, I want to do something lighthearted."

'They are calling it Maddy's biopic universe'

What a transformative performance! I mean, every step of the man's life comes alive. Through your performance, I feel I know this unique man. I know how his mind works. I know how his heart works.

GDN's family was so supportive because they have been living the same quiet life for many years after his demise. They are very wealthy. They have a huge museum.

His grandson has carried forward the legacy. They make extraordinary rocket engines and drone engines.

They are still in connection with the German family who saved his life during World War II. They have a company together, making jet engines in their factory in Coimbatore.

This is not the first time you have brought an unsung genius to the screen.

Yeah, I'm on a path of self discovery through these great men. I thought that's the way I can improve myself as a human being and actor.

I still have to keep my career going, but at least my choices are close to my heart. They are calling it Maddy's biopic universe.

'The transition from actor to character had to look realistic'

 

 

 

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In Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, you were so into Nambi Narayanan, I felt you would never resurface.

(Laughs) That is the ultimate compliment. In Rocketry, I had to bend my soul to look like him. But I feel strange that nobody noticed that.

It's the only film in the world where a biopic is such that the climax of the film is done by the real character. There's no film in the world, ever, where that happened.

When we were trying to do Rocketry, I realised everything has to be absolutely real -- putting on weight has to be real, growing hair, the hair has to be real, no wigs, because it will then put a question on whether anything about the film is true or not.

So all the actors who played scientists in Rocketry went through the cycle of becoming fat, becoming thin, growing hair, shaving, no wigs....

I wanted the audience not even to point out that there is a real Nambi Narayanan. And I felt so happy. They said, how did you have the guts to have the emotional continuum happen in such a manner? Did you not worry that people's emotions would have broken the moment they saw the real Nambi Narayanan?

I said, yes, I thought about it, that's why I went to the lengths of breaking my jaw to look at him.

You broke your jaw to play Nambi Narayanan?

The transition from actor to character had to look realistic. With GDN, we tried doing the real bit -- write the dialogues realistically, try to play it realistically. Then while playing it, I realised it was like bits on a board because his life didn't seem real.

So even though he's not as angry, flamboyant or verbose as Nambi Narayanan sir, the things he did was commercial. Like what happened at the auction, divorcing his wife.

But it's amazing how GDN is unanimously embraced by the audience. Now, I want to do something lighthearted.

'Everybody needs to be a student, no matter what your baggage is'

You can't do fun films and romance girls, who are one third your age?

I've never done that.

When did I ever do anything normal?

I've got my nose bashed in for doing abnormal stuff all the time.

You went through a lot of release date changes?

It was supposed to release on July 17, and then Vijay's film (Jan Nayagan) was supposed to come. Then there was unrest all over the place, so we had to push it.

You have a very good team of actors in GDN.

Thank God for that! We did a lot of recasting, it took a lot of learning. We had to respectfully ask a few people to get recast again because they were not looking at it as the same film.

The ones that eventually became part of the film were the ones who were ready to dedicate themselves to the lines, to the character, come for look tests, and make sure they were part of the team.

What I'm saying is sometimes you look at people, and how appropriately they fit the role. You cast them because you think their calibre and their ability to portray this role is there. Then they come on set and somewhere something else has changed in their lives. Maybe they have become cynical, maybe they are going through a divorce or maybe they're upset with something.

So their ability to commit to the project is right up to the professional requirement only. They will come and say, okay, what are the lines, what time is the pack-up...

Now, there's nothing wrong with their calibre or with them as professionals. It's just that they are not involved. They become cynical over a period of time, saying, what are these guys going to give me new that I've never done before?

It's a dangerous attitude to come onto the set with.

It kills the project because they are condescending to the instructions being given. That is something we cannot afford.

Everybody needs to be a student, no matter what your baggage is.

'I'm a damn bloody good engineer'

You have exact replicas of GDN's gadgets; you must have spent a fortune building them.

No. It was wonderful of the family to give the gadgets. There's another detail we haven't told anybody: That motorcycle is 150 years old!

I'm a BSc Electronics guy. I'm an engineering fan. I understand everything about engineering but never got an opportunity to get an engineering degree.

Engineering's loss is cinema's gain.

I may agree a little bit. But I'm a damn good engineer.

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Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff