What do you do when you hear something funny? Laugh! But, here’s a man whose laughter made everyone chuckle. He’s none other than Tamil film industry’s Punnagai Mannan (king of smiles) — Madhan Bob. Named ‘Krishnamoorthy’ by his parents, Madhan was the eighth child in his family, and shares that he had plenty of time to learn everything — including self-hypnotism!
“I would never get immediate attention. My siblings were working or in college, and I had just completed school. I had to keep myself occupied. I started learning everything from musical instruments to self-hypnotism by myself! It’s important to be a good student in life,” says the musician/actor who even learnt yoga and heavyweight boxing.
From being a medical representative to a sales officer, Madhan has tried his hand at everything. He was trained in western classical and carnatic music by people like S Ramanathan, Harihara Sharma and ‘Vikku’ Vinayakaram. “I bought a bulbul tarang at a local exhibition and began playing it. I even learnt to play the guitar!” he shares. After quitting his job as a sales officer, Madhan took to music.
He spent most of his time doing music shows, songs for advertisements, dramas, radio commercials and serials. “When Doordarshan started (in Chennai) in 1975, I was the first to play the guitar on the channel! I used to compose music for serials; I did the music for Sangarsh (Hindi serial) and even received the Best Music Award,” says Madhan, who also composed music for dramas of artists like S Ve Shekher and Y G Mahendra.
Bringing in the latest musical equipment from Singapore in 1975 and occasionally acting in a few plays and serials, Madhan wouldn’t have imagined what life had in store for him. “I was composing music for serials, and directors wanted me to act as well. I agreed and acted in one of YGM’s plays and a serial named Sathyama Solren. Both received good reviews,” he recalls.
So, how did he step into the limelight? His friend’s father, STD Chander (he owned an STD booth) recommended him to K Balachander, and he bagged his first role in the movie Vaname Ellai (1992). But, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.
Madhan firmly believed he was no good at acting and politely refused when Chander told him that the ace director was seeking a new face for his film. “I told Chander, ‘Let me know if someone needs music. What do I know about acting?’ But Balachander sir wanted to meet me, so I went to his house and had a one-on-one conversation with him,” he says.
Balachander asked him to return in a few days. “I wondered why he wanted to meet me again, but after that, I got back to my music. But he didn’t forget about it. I had just got home after composing music for an advertisement. His car was parked outside and his associate director had come to take me. I couldn’t believe what was happening. I was offered a role in Vaname Ellai,” he smiles.
Madhan has acted in 645 films including Jathi Malli (1993), Thevar Magan (1992), Poove Unakage (1996), Friends (2001) and Ethir Neechal (2013). Recalling the time he shared screen space with his idol Sivaji Ganesan in his second movie, (Thevar Magan) Madhan exclaims, “I couldn’t believe that I was acting with him in my second film! I had to deliver a dialogue, which was offensive to his character and was horrified to have to do that to my idol! After the dialogue, I quickly added ‘Edha sola enakku vayasu pathadhu’ (I’m not old enough to say this).” After the shot, Sivaji appreciated Madhan. “He said that I did a good job, and I didn’t know how to react,” he laughs. Of Madhan’s 645 movies, 450 have been well-received and most have been screened for 100 days.
Talking about being a comedy artist, he says that comedy has become like songs in movies, and breaks into his signature laugh. “Sometimes, even if a movie doesn’t do well, the songs and comedy scenes are appreciated. That’s what makes you a successful comedian. Acting your part with 100% commitment is very important. It’s something my dad taught me,” he shares.
Talking about solo comedy tracks in films, Madhan shares that not every comedian can pull off a solo track. “Gowndamani, Senthil, Vadivelu, Vivek, Santhanam, and now Soori — if you notice, these comedians use the situation as an element in their humour and that’s why they have successfully pulled off solo tracks in movies,” he explains.
Madhan also says it’s important to sustain oneself in the industry. “I have over 600 films, but I still act; that’s what’s important! People shouldn’t get bored of your gimmicks,” says the actor who is busy with films like Kathi Sandai, Pttinapakkam, Motta Siva Ketta Siva and Ennama Katha Viduranuge.
If he had to pick between music and acting, what would he choose? “If you had asked me before I got into acting, it would have been music. But now, I can’t choose,” says Madhan, who is also well known for his music show Madhan Utsav.
No Company like Kamal’s
“Kamal Hassan is a man of intellect. If you can match his thoughts, you can talk to him for hours. During the shoot of Thevar Magan, a Raj Kamal production, one would think that Kamal must have been dominating; but no — he helped adjust artists’ make up. He’s very humble and can give you deep insights into many topics!”
Believe it or Not!
Now reputed for his dialogue delivery, Madhan was once known to stammer. He used his knowledge of self-hypnotism to “auto-correct” his problem. “I had learnt everything at that point and became my own therapist!” he says.
A R Rahman’s Guru
AR Rahman is popularly known as the ‘Indian Mozart’, but a lesser known fact is that he was once under the tutelage of Madhan. During Madhan Utsav in 2008, director K S Ravi Kumar said on stage that Rahman had revealed during the music composition of Thenali (2000) that Madhan used to be his guru. “If Rahman hadn’t said that, no one would have known. It just shows his magnanimity,” says Madhan.
‘Sentiment’ artist
After his first movie, Madhan was a part of consecutive silver jubilee movies and was named ‘sentiment artist’. “They used to take the first shot with me and also used to make me dub first.”
Rajini: A man like no other
“During a shoot, Rajinikanth and I were chatting and he asked what I thought of spirituality. I gave a casual answer, and impressed by my response, he bent down to touch my feet. There were 2,000 people around and I was shocked. In fact, I ran away (laughs). He likes listening to people, but what he did shows that he is a man with no ego and inhibitions. That’s why he is who he is!”