R. Madhavan has avoided acting altogether.
Ranganathan Madhavan ( born 1 June 1970 ) is an Indian actor , writer and film producer . 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 cast alongside Kamal Haasan in the 2003 drama Anbe Sivam , which earned him two notable awards for Best Supporting Actor . In the mid-2000s , Madhavan also actively pursued a career in Hindi films , by appearing in supporting roles in three highly successful productions , Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra 's Rang De Basanti ( 2006 ) , Mani Ratnam 's biopic Guru ( 2007 ) and Rajkumar Hirani 's 3 Idiots ( 2009 ) , which went on to become the highest grossing Indian film of all time upon release .