R Madhavan has revealed that he took a four-year break from performing as a result of he had grown deeply dissatisfied with the form of work he was doing on the time. The actor stepped away from movies in 2011 and returned solely in 2016 with Saala Khadoos — a comeback that marked a transparent shift from his earlier romantic roles to intense, author-backed performances.In a latest interview, Madhavan defined that the sabbatical was vital for each inventive and private readability, and that the break finally formed what he now calls the second part of his profession.Chatting with Unfiltered Leisure, Madhavan mentioned the turning level got here throughout an abroad shoot. “Vikram Vedha occurred to me after a sabbatical. Earlier than Saala Khadoos, I needed to take a break as a result of I used to be very disillusioned with the form of work I used to be doing. I used to be taking pictures in Switzerland with orange pants and inexperienced shirt for a Tamil tune.”It was an sudden second on that set that pressured him to look inward. “I used to be in the course of the street and I noticed this Swiss farmer, sitting there, taking a look at us with full disdain. Sipping a cup of tea and considering of what we have been doing. I checked out him and thought you come to Chennai and I’ll present you who I’m.”
‘I’m actually dancing to different folks’s tunes’
What initially offended him quickly grew to become a second of readability. Madhavan admitted he realised how little of himself he was bringing into his work. “I used to be actually offended, however then it struck me all of the sudden. I’m actually dancing to different folks’s tunes. I’m a public speaker, I understand how to deal with a gun, fly distant planes, journey horses, I accomplish that many issues. I’m exhibiting none of it in my motion pictures.”He added that his solely focus again then was stardom. “The one factor I used to be making an attempt to do was to woo the viewers, which can make me a celebrity. I realised the error I used to be doing.”
‘You’re going for work such as you need to come again from it’
Madhavan additionally recalled how his spouse, Sarita Birje, sensed his rising disconnect. Talking about a few of the roles he had taken up, he mentioned, “Even the characters that I used to be taking part in… like a hungry man who’s uneducated from a village and making an attempt his greatest to make his profession in cricket. I imply, from no angle do Arvind Swamy seem like we’re both uneducated or starved for meals. These are all of the incorrect issues to do.”One dialog at house proved decisive. “In the future, my spouse requested me, ‘What’s incorrect with you’. She mentioned that you’re going for work such as you need to come again from it. That really made loads of sense,” Madhavan mentioned, referring to the Telugu remake of Thani Oruvan for instance of roles that felt logically inconsistent to him.
‘That perception for 4 years might be what I’m consuming off proper now’
Throughout his four-year break, the actor consciously distanced himself from movies and even promoting work. “So, I took a break. I wished to grasp the place the nation was going. I even stopped doing advert movies, grew a beard, travelled lots round Chennai, and different locations in India. I talked to rickshaw guys, what actually issues to them, what’s the actual value of stuff that bothers them.”Reflecting on that part, he added, “That perception for 4 years might be what I’m consuming off proper now.”
‘I began in search of new administrators’
When he returned to performing, Madhavan mentioned he had a far clearer sense of what he wished to do. “Once I got here again, I realised that my filmmakers, those who have been making motion pictures with me, weren’t as ahead considering as me. Their potential to inform a narrative was nonetheless to impress their mentors. I began in search of new administrators,” he concluded.That readability led to a hanging reinvention — from romantic results in layered performances in movies like Vikram Vedha, Shaitaan, Kesari 2, De De Pyaar De 2 and Dhurandhar.
Padma Shri honour
In 2026, R Madhavan was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his over 25-year profession and contributions to Indian cinema throughout Tamil, Hindi and Telugu languages. Introduced on Republic Day 2026, the actor known as the popularity “past my wildest goals,” expressing deep humility and gratitude.