The chocolate boy of Bollywood, Madhavan has a place in my heart. It started with Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mei, which definitely did not age well, I realise. But it was his role as Flt Lt Ajay Rathod in Rang De Basanti that stole my heart with his dimples and acting.
Like every typical middle class family, that wants their child to be engineers and doctors, Madhavan faced the same with his parents with “abba nahi maanenge”. In an interview, Madhavan revealed that the scene in 3 Idiots- where his character Farhan, goes to talk to his father about wanting to pursue wildlife photography and leave engineering behind- is a reflection of his life. While speaking to YouTube channel Curly Tales, he said-
The scene from 3 Idiots is right out of my life. My dad and mom really wanted me to come back as an engineer and work for the Tatas and settle down there (Jamshedpur). But I knew early on in my life that… I did not know what I was going to be but I did know that I didn’t want to live a routine life in Jamshedpur and do the same thing for 30 years in a row, which my dad did with a great amount of ease. That was not me.
He went on to explain what transpired between him and his parents with his decision to become an actor
“They were disappointed, they were distraught, they were, in fact, dismayed. My dad was driven to tears. I remember a line he said, ‘I wonder what I have done wrong with you’. I will never forget that. I remember telling him, ‘I don’t know what I want to be, appa, but I do know that I don’t want to be an engineer, doing the same job.’ He was stunned but I think that day, he knew that I will take care of myself, that I am a survivor,”
I guess, “All is Well” did fix things for him, after all.
