Ranganathan Madhavan is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations. He has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal, appearing in films from seven different languages.
Background
He was on the firt June, 1970 in Jamshedpur, India, to a Hindu Tamil Brahmin family. His father Ranganathan was a management executive with Tata Steel while his mother, Saroja was a manager with the Bank of India. His sister, Devika, is a software engineer settled in the United Kingdom He has a son called Vedant . He had a Tamil-speaking upbringing in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand erstwhile Bihar. He is alumni of D.B.M.S. English School and was senior to Bollywood director Imtiaz Ali and Miss India,2004 turned actress Tanushree Dutta.
Career
In early 1996, Madhavan did a sandalwood talc advertisement for Santosh Sivan, who later recommended him to Mani Ratnam for a screen test for a role in Iruvar. Later in the same year, Mani Ratnam called Madhavan for the screen test, but left him out of the project citing that he thought his eyes looked too young for a senior role. As his film career failed to take off, Madhavan went on to feature in Hindi television serials, appearing as a crook in his first venture Yule Love Stories. He appeared in a leading roles in Zee TV's Banegi Apni Baat and later in Tol Mol Ke Bol. He went on to as a captain in Sea Hawks, as a convict in Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum, and as an anchor in Tol Mol amongst others. His popularity on television, led to him securing his first film role in Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, where he made a cameo appearance in a song as a club singer.
In 1997, Madhavan appeared in his first film role as an Indian police officer in Fred Olen Ray's Inferno alongside Don Wilson. His first chance in Indian movies came in the form of Shanti Shanti Shanti, a Kannada film, in which he acted in the second lead role to Abbas, an established actor. However, the film failed to make an impact and went unnoticed. During the period, Hindi film director Vinod Pandey launched Madhavan as a Bollywood hero, with a project titled Lakheli, however the film was abandoned by the producers soon after production began and the film was cancelled.
Filmography:
Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996)
Inferno (1997)
Shanti Shanti Shanti (1998)
Nala Damayanthi (2003)
Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004)
Priyasakhi (2005)
Rang De Basanti (2006)
Guru (2007)
Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008)
Sikandar (2009)
Manmadan Ambu (2010)
Tanu Weds Manu (2011)
Jodi Breakers (2012)
