Madhavan: “Receiving A Doctorate Felt Surreal…Please Stop Perceiving Actors As Idiots””

 Kindly note. It is Dr Madhavan from now on. Tamil star-actor R Madhavan  has received  the  Doctor of Letters (D. Litt.) for his outstanding contribution to arts and cinema by DY PatilEducation Society, Kolhapur, at their ninth convocation ceremony.

Madhavan who rushed to Kolhapur  to  receive the  honour on  17 February says the experience was  beyond   anything he has experienced  in  life. “It was  surreal. My only regret was that my wife Sarita and my son Vedant couldn’t accompany me  to the event.  I missed them in  my golden  moment. As I sat there hearing them say such wonderful things about me  and  my career , I was transported  to my student days  in  Kolhapur. In hostel I had to  do everything myself, even heat the water  for a bath. This , for someone  who lived life like  a  king in Canada was  unbearable. When  I look back  I see   that experience  in self-actualization as  essential to  my  growth.”

 Madhavan  was overwhelmed by  all  the  wonderful encomiums that were  showered  on him while receiving the  doctorate. “As  they  so lovingly  spoke about my  achievements,  I  could only see everything in my life  as serendipitous. I never planned anything.And very often  I did things without  any   idea  of the outcome. Sometimes no fear of the darkness is ignorance  rather than  bravery. I took the plunge into television, then  Tamil cinema then Hindi cinema  not knowing how  it would  all pan out. Now here I am holding a D Litt  in my hands.”

Only  the most privileged  showbiz  personalities  in India like Lata  Mangeshkar  and KamalHaasan have got  this privilege  of being honoured with  a doctorate.

Says Madhavan, “Even to  be  mentioned in the same breath  as these  two is  a great honour for me. When  actors  like us get honored with doctorates I wish the image  of  showbiz personalities as intellectually challenged frivolous dimwits  would end. To a large extent we are  ourselves  responsible for not being taken seriously .Some of us  constantly stress and project the glamorous side of   our lives.As though being an  actor is  fun and  games. In  reality there are so many actors and films that have influenced  the  lives of millions. Look at  the work Sonu Sood is  doing.It’s  awesome.Films like Rang De Basanti and  3 Idiots have changed the way we look at life. I am proud to say I  was part of  both.”

  Maddy’s future plans? “This year you will see me as a  director in Rocketry : The  Nambi Effect  where I  direct and star in a bio-pic on space  scientist  Nambi Narayaran. Besides this  I will continue to explore the darkness. I am not afraid to  stumble  and  fall.”