ROLES, POLES APART

R. MADHAVAN IS A SUCKER FOR CHANGE, AND THAT MIGHT BE THE SECRET TO HIS APPEAL

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

In June, actor R. Madhavan turned 51. This called for some serious introspection. After all, for most male actors from Bollywood, this is the 'definitive milestone' when they are legitimately entitled to romance leading ladies half their age and pull offage-defying stunts on screen. And so, before the subject even comes up, Madhavan “clears the air”. “No, you will not see me wooing younger women on screen. As much as my aging bones and legs would like that, I don't think my mind will allow it,” says the actor who moved on gracefully from his chocolate boy image in Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (2001) and Rang De Basanti (2006) to that of a stylish and serious encounter specialist in Vikram Vedha (2017) and a hulking angry man in Saala Khadoos (2016).

“Very early on in my career I decided to make my content age appropriate,” he says, referring to his upcoming comedy-drama on Netflix, Decoupled, in which he plays a sarcastic and delinquent middle-aged Arya Iyer, whose “uncompromised sense of objectivity in life” threatens his marriage to his CEO wife (Surveen Chawla). The couple decides to call it quits, but keeps finding reasons to be together, even as they navigate a maze of issues that typically symbolise today's urban marriages. The series, created by Manu Joseph and directed by Hardik Mehta, is slated to release on December 17.