Madhavan revealed when he made his father cry: ‘He said, I wonder what I have done wrong….’

Actor Madhavan once recalled how he had a moment like his 3 Idiots character Farhan in real life. Just like Farhan who had an emotional moment wioth his father when he revealed he wanted to be a wildlife photographer instead of an engineer, Madhavan revealed there was a time when he made his father anxious and upset when he told him he had no interest to be an engineer.

He explained that unlike his father, he had no interest in a routine job and did not want to live in Jamshedpur forever. “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 said.

In an interview with Curly Tales, the Dhurandhar star revealed how his father, who like any Indian parent wanted him to have a stable, conventional career, was moved to tears when he said he was not interested in engineering. “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 said.


Madhavan’s father Ranganathan, who was a management executive in Tata Steel, wanted him to study engineering, work for the Tatas and settle in Jamshepur.

R. Madhavan began his acting journey on television, appearing in popular shows such as Banegi Apni Baat and Aarohan. He made his Tamil film debut in 2000 with Mani Ratnam’s critically acclaimed Alaipayuthey, which was later adapted into Hindi as Saathiya. The film marked an important turning point in his career and helped establish him as a promising actor in Tamil cinema. He went on to strengthen his position in the industry with successful films including Minnale and Thambi. Madhavan later expanded his presence in Bollywood, earning widespread recognition through films such as 3 Idiots, Shaitaan, and Dhurandhar, further demonstrating his versatility across different genres and languages.