Madhavan sports a warm fuzzy smile at the mention of his son, Vedaant Madhavan, who is making waves as a professional freestyle swimmer.
“As a parent, I’d rate myself 6 on 10,” says Madhavan, rather candidly, “While I’m happy with Vedaant’s achievements, I’m also nervous because he has attained recognition that might be disproportionate to his achievements. I’m not worried whether he will make it big or not; I’m more concerned if he has the smartness to understand that this recognition will soon fade, and that he has to make his own name.”
Madhavan aka Maddy takes parenting seriously, despite admitting that his professional commitments might not give him the space to spend more time with his 19-year-old. Which is why the actor, who debuted in Tamil cinema 25 years ago with Alaipayuthe, has recently invested in a parental control app, Parent Geenee, besides being its strategic partner. “It addresses modern parenting challenges, considering a child’s high digital exposure and accompanying perils,” he explains.
Actor Madhavan
| Photo Credit:
Srinivasa Ramanujam. Shot On OnePlus #FramesofIndia
The waters beckon
The actor is a modern parent himself. In a decision prompted by the COVID-induced lockdown, the Madhavan household moved, lock, stock and barrel, to Dubai to ensure the best opportunities for Vedaant to pursue his passion for swimming. Madhavan mulls at that decision and says, “It was an essential decision taken at the right time. He (Vedaant) was going through his growth spurt as a teenager and not having a pool to swim would have meant the end of his international swimming career. My wife, Sarita, and I were very hassled because all the pools in Mumbai and India were closed. At the same time, countries like Germany, France and China had opened their swimming pools and were asking the students to stay there for months together and train. Some of them even broke the world record during that phase. It was something Vedaant couldn’t miss out on, and so, when we learnt, Dubai’s pools were open… it was a good decision, as Vedaant excelled after that.”
Though he travels often to India for work, Madhavan feels the marked difference in lifestyle is that he does not spend that many hours on the road in Dubai. “As a result, I can spend quality time with golf, motorcyling and my yacht.”
Not many people know that Maddy owns a boat in Dubai and also has a captain’s license. “Yes, I do. I had to pass a written exam and go for a practical course. Managing a motor yatch on the sea is easy as it is a slow moving object but docking it is a completely different skill. To dock the boat safely without hitting the other boats was the biggest challenge,” he says.
A still from ‘Alaipayuthey’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Chocolate boy memories
Twenty-five years ago, his biggest challenge was facing the camera for Alaipayuthe, a film that boasts legendary names such as Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman and PC Sreeram, among others. The sight of Madhavan with headphones riding a bike, with the zingy ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’ track playing in the background is something that fans remember fondly.
“I keep questioning myself on what I did to deserve such a big break in the movies,” recalls Madhavan, on his debut film celebrating its 25th anniversary this April. “Most people spend a lifetime putting a project like that for people they care about. To have names like Mani sir, AR Rahman, PC Sreeram and Shalini for my debut can only mean an extraordinary confluence of stars and coincidences that happened. Mind you, I was 30 years old when we shot Alaipayuthe and it was a love story! I look back at it with fear sometimes.What if I had failed? I look at my ability to dance and perform in that film and wonder how I lasted thus far as an actor. Alaipayuthe gives me mixed emotions; one of gratitude, to the entire team for having done that for me, but based on 25 years of experience, I also cringe looking at myself.”
That’s the past, but the present and future does look rosy for the actor. With recent releases like Hisaab Barabar and The Railway Men among others, Madhavan has been at the movies. Up next, he has Sashikanth’s The Test and Mithran Jawahar’s Adhirstasaali. “I have done nine projects in the last couple of years. There will be more coming up.”
One of those will be a biopic on legendary Indian scientist GD Naidu. What is with Maddy’s fascination with biopics, considering he recently did one based on the life of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan (Rocketry)? “That the world did not talk much about GD Naidu, who is considered the Edison of India, was enough motivation to take it up. But I think I’m done with biopics. After this, I want to make stories on progressive India.”
When he is not out there doing that or docking his boat in Dubai, Maddy is busy trying to pick up new skills. “I wish to try out paragliding this year,” he reveals, “Acquiring a new experience every year and getting a different insight into what it does is very important for people my age and older, because you don’t want the mind to get sedate.”
And for that, Maddy also nurses another dream: open a filter coffee chain. “Filter coffee has been far ignored. I feel it needs to understood and experienced across the world. I hope to do this soon,” says the actor. For Maddy, there is always something brewing.
Madhavan with the team of Parent Geenee Inc.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Digital boundaries
With children reportedly averaging 4.5 hours of screen time daily, digital well-being has become an increasing concern for modern parents. Parent Geenee, a newly-launched location-based parental control app, seeks to solve this concern. With Madhavan on board as an investor and strategic partner, the team seeks to foster healthy digital boundaries in children. Sasi Naga, founder and chairman, says, “We hope to make digital supervision easier. Based on the child’s location, parents can supervise what apps in a smartphone they can access.”
Published – March 04, 2025 04:23 pm IST