Aap Jaisa Koi directed by Vivek Soni and starring R. Madhavan and Fatima Sana Shaikh, releases on Netflix on July 11.
Ahead of the film's release, The Quint caught up with R. Madhavan, who spoke about how Aap Jaisa Koi resonated with him - not just as an actor, but as a man navigating expectations and love. He opened up about how realising his self-worth was transformative, the silent successes, his love language, and more.
Madhavan believes that a man’s patriarchal upbringing often conditions him to think he’s being generous, when in fact, he’s being misogynistic. "men in today's world are hoping from one foot to the other, trying to know what the right thing to do or say is, not wanting to offend anyone but figure that whatever they say, or have been conditioned to say or think, is getting them into trouble and actually having the opposite effect of that they intended it to be."
The actor also spoke about how landing a role Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey redefined him. "It made me realise that my value as an individual is far more than what I have been crediting himself for. It made me realise my self-worth and that was transformative."
While speaking of silent successes - the ones that go beyond applause and box office numbers and don't make headlines - the actor spoke about directing Rocketry, and recalled feeling 'his existence had become mundane as an actor', till he did the film.
On the first day of shoot for Rocketry, I was thinking to myself, ‘What are you doing?’R. Madhavan, Actor
At this point when he actor-turned-director was experiencing self-doubt, it was a friend who gave him the push he needed. "Life is one shot at a time - just take that first shot, think of all the others later," the friend told him.
"I took that first shot, and once I filmed it, I realised it was exactly what I had written," Madhavan recalls. That moment became a larger realisation for him - that whenever life presents a problem, the best way forward is to take it one step at a time.
Madhavan also spoke about his love language, why he feels the need to tell his wife 'I love you' often, and more.
Watch the video for more.