Enamoured by H’wood

R. Madhavan, who has had an impressive repertoire of films in Bollywood and the South film industry, is making his Hollywood debut with Night Of The Living Dead: Origins. The actor, who is confident about his Hollywood venture, is happy that Asians are being accepted in their film industry more than ever before. Madhavan says, “I think it’s just the beginning for Asian actors. Hollywood has now realised that Indian and Chinese actors have as many followers worldwide, if not more. So if you put a mix of Indian and Chinese stars in a film, more people will see it in the beginning itself. That format has worked for Indian stars.” Speaking about his role in the film, the actor says, “I play a US marine officer in the film. It has been shot in 3D. I was amazed at the technology that was used. It’s something I had never seen before. It was way ahead of anything I have seen in India.” Madhavan has mostly played romantic roles in films. So it’s interesting to see him make his international debut in the horror genre. However, Madhavan says that the change of image was not a deliberate move. “This is not my first horror film. I did 13B in India that did really well. I think, more than a romantic hero, people have just accepted me as a guy who does different roles,” Madhavan says. Speaking about his favourite Hollywood films of all time he says, “I like A Beautiful Mind. I am also a huge fan of commercial films like the Harry Potter series. Recently, I saw a spectacular film called The Butler directed by Lee Daniels. Oprah Winfrey was fantastic.” Madhavan admits that he has made a few wrong film choices in the past and says that he has smartened up now. He only accepts projects that he is confident will see the light of the day. He says, “When approached for a project I used to only look at the script. Now I look at the setup, the producers and see if they have the ability to finish the film on time.” On home turf, the actor has been preparing for his bilingual film that will be made in Hindi and Tamil. He starts shooting in December for it. Without revealing much about the project, Madhavan says, “I have been preparing for the film for the past seven months. It is exciting since the subject is something new.” He’s also known as a private person who is rarely spotted in social dos. The actor says that he likes to keep his family out of the limelight. “I think we are boring people. We never go out for functions and stuff. I’m a middle class guy at heart and my pleasures are limited. I enjoy golf and holidaying with family. I enjoy sitting at home and having a glass of wine. I have had enough parties when I was in Mumbai. So I am done.” When asked if his son has any plans of following in his famous father’s footsteps, Madhavan says, “It’s too early and it’s too ambitious of anyone to expect that he would be part of the industry. It’s the only industry in the world that selects its people. So it doesn’t matter who desires it and how much you prepare for it. Unless you get accepted by the industry and the audience, you can’t say anything.”