R Madhavan is regarded as one of Indian cinema’s most versatile actors with films like ‘Alaipayuthey’, ‘Rehna Hai Terre Dil Mein’ and in recent times, ‘The Rocketery’, ‘Dhurandhar’. But unlike many stars whose rise is defined by years of rejection and struggle, his journey has been shaped by unwavering self-belief and the courage to dream big. Long before films became a part of his life, the actor had already written down his biggest ambition as a teenager—to become “rich and famous”. Madhavan recalled writing his life’s goals while he was in Class 12. “I had written in my ambitions that I want to become a jack of all trades and master of some in my 12th grade in Canada. I wrote that as a 17-year-old. It is still there in my notebook. I had written that I want to become a rich and famous actor and a jack of all trades and a master of some. Those were actually the exact words I had written,” he said in an old conversation with Chetan Bhagat, Reflecting on the power of ambition, Madhavan said people should never place limits on their dreams, even if they seem impossible to others. He credited his own journey as proof that believing in the unimaginable can sometimes turn it into reality.“There is no limit to dreaming and you should never limit it either. I always say, ‘Be a fool. See unbelievable dreams. Dreams that will make others think you are crazy.’ It is very important to dream big. I had never imagined that one day Amitabh Bachchan would wish me on my birthday. It is a huge thing. He is a legend. Just look at my journey. There was a time when I was far away in Jamshedpur, watching his films, and then came a time when I was standing with him, doing films with him. I manifested this and I knew it would happen one day. You should never be scared of dreaming,” he added.Interestingly, despite writing down his aspiration to become an actor, Madhavan never consciously worked towards a film career. At the time, he was making a successful living as a public speaking and communication skills trainer, earning well and enjoying the life he had built for himself. Acting came into his life purely by chance.“I was not aiming to become an actor. I didn’t know that I would become an actor one day. I came to Bombay to teach communication skills and public speaking. I was earning between Rs 70,000 and Rs 80,000 a month at that time. It was a lot of money in those days and I used to spend it all. Around the same time, someone randomly approached me on the street and asked if I wanted to act. At first, I thought it was a scam. But that’s how I got into acting,” he recalled.That unexpected encounter changed the course of his life. Soon afterwards, Madhavan landed the lead role in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Alaipayuthey’ (2000), the romantic drama that became a critical and commercial success. The film catapulted him to stardom and paved the way for an illustrious career across Tamil, Hindi and Telugu cinema.
