Madhavan interview: On 25 years of ‘Alaipayuthe’, moving to Dubai and modern parenting challenges

Actor Madhavan looks back at his Tamil debut, ‘Alaipayuthe’, which completes 25 years, even as he discusses his move to Dubai and other projects.

Madhavan sports a warm fuzzy smile at the mention of his son, Vedaant Madhavan, who is making waves as a professional freestyle swimmer.

“As a parent, I’d rate myself 6 on 10,” says Madhavan, rather candidly, “While I’m happy with Vedaant’s achievements, I’m also nervous because he has attained recognition that might be disproportionate to his achievements. I’m not worried whether he will make it big or not; I’m more concerned if he has the smartness to understand that this recognition will soon fade, and that he has to make his own name.”

Madhavan aka Maddy takes parenting seriously, despite admitting that his professional commitments might not give him the space to spend more time with his 19-year-old. Which is why the actor, who debuted in Tamil cinema 25 years ago with Alaipayuthe, has recently invested in a parental control app, Parent Geenee, besides being its strategic partner. “It addresses modern parenting challenges, considering a child’s high digital exposure and accompanying perils,” he explains.

The waters beckon

The actor is a modern parent himself. In a decision prompted by the COVID-induced lockdown, the Madhavan household moved, lock, stock and barrel, to Dubai to ensure the best opportunities for Vedaant to pursue his passion for swimming. Madhavan mulls at that decision and says, “It was an essential decision taken at the right time. He (Vedaant) was going through his growth spurt as a teenager and not having a pool to swim would have meant the end of his international swimming career. My wife, Sarita, and I were very hassled because all the pools in Mumbai and India were closed. At the same time, countries like Germany, France and China had opened their swimming pools and were asking the students to stay there for months together and train. Some of them even broke the world record during that phase. It was something Vedaant couldn’t miss out on, and so, when we learnt, Dubai’s pools were open... it was a good decision, as Vedaant excelled after that.”

Though he travels often to India for work, Madhavan feels the marked difference in lifestyle is that he does not spend that many hours on the road in Dubai. “As a result, I can spend quality time with golf, motorcyling and my yacht.”

Not many people know that Maddy owns a boat in Dubai and also has a captain’s license. “Yes, I do. I had to pass a written exam and go for a practical course. Managing a motor yatch on the sea is easy as it is a slow moving object but docking it is a completely different skill. To dock the boat safely without hitting the other boats was the biggest challenge,” he says.