01 June 2012 :: R. Madhavan (born 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor, writer, film producer and television host. Madhavan has received a Filmfare Award, an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations. He has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve pan-Indian appeal, appearing in films from seven different languages.
Madhavan was born on 1 June 1970 in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India, to a Hindu Tamil Brahmin family. His father Ranganathan was a management executive with Tata Steel whilst his mother, Saroja was a manager with the Bank of India. His sister, Devika, is a software engineer settled in the United Kingdom. Despite Madhavan’s ambition of wanting to join the army, his parents insisted he went to management school and pursue a degree in electronics. After completing the degree, he went on to teach communication and public speaking at workshops around India. At the Maharashtra workshop, he encountered his wife Sarita Birje in 1991, an air hostess, who attended his class. After completing the course, the pair began dating and married in 1999, before Madhavan entered mainstream films.
