Why actor R Madhavan is giving web content a shot
By his own lofty standards, R Madhavan had a stellar 2017. Vikram Vedha was both critically acclaimed and a box office hit. There was that viral selfie on Instagram which left women gushing on social media on how well he is ageing. He also shot Amazon’s second Indian original, Breathe. Three episodes from the series will be available to stream from Republic Day.
It’s Madhavan’s first venture in the emerging medium and he admits he was initially wary of committing to it. A section of India’s metropolis populace has grown up watching international shows and switched off their TVs to watch streaming content on mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Madhavan is mindful of the high standards and acquired tastes of this demographic to which Breathe caters.
“The conditioning of the audience is such that they have seen a certain level of stuff and they are not going to spare you just because it’s your first attempt,” he says
“I was not confident that the content being created now had the ability to surpass the intelligence of international content. The vengeance with which the currently educated and evolved audience is getting back is not enviable.”
In writer-director Mayank Sharma’s story of a father pushed to crime and murder to save his ailing son and a police officer trying to pin him down, Madhavan found a compelling drama and thriller that was worthy of the format.
So assured is the actor with the end result that he called the last two episodes “by far best season finales in internet content or for that matter any film”. Madhavan plays the single parent whose child needs organ donation to survive. Amit Sadh is the cop with a baggage of his own.
While in Hollywood most actors are open and in some cases even eager to be a part of shows produced by TV or streaming networks (Meryl Streep was announced as the newest cast member of season two of Big Lies), in India that’s hardly the case.
Fictional television is largely overlooked for its formulaic and regressive fare, while streaming is still in its nascent stages and so ignored by the mainstream actors. Madhavan doesn’t see a web series as a step back in his career.
“If I had done this at a time when my films were failing or my film wasn’t the best film of 2017 beating Baahubali 2, according to IMDB, then there was a great possibility that it would be the foremost comment from the adversaries,” he said. “I don’t think they have a weapon to use.”
Professionally, Madhavan couldn’t be happier. His face lit up as he began to talk about his upcoming projects — a biopic on a rocket scientist and another a period film.
“For the first time in my life I am waltzing,” he says. “Suddenly there’s so much work, the kind of work that I want to do. I wish I had 50 hours in a day right now. I am a kid in the candy shop.”
(Courtesy of Mail Today)