R Madhavan received flak for not looking like a 'Hindi film hero' in RHTDM: 'We let Saif be the guy with the perfect everything'

Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein may be a classic today but the film and its story didn’t receive the kind of love an appreciation it enjoys today, when it was originally released in theatres two decades ago. Actor R Madhavan who is now loved for his character Maddy (Madhav Shashti) in the film also didn’t get a warm welcome to Bollywood from critics as he didn’t fit the bill of being the quintessential Bollywood hero.

Madhavan reveals to First Post that him the film’s director Gautham Menon and him thought about keep the looks of the character as close to real as possible by not having him build the perfect physique and styled hair. While the concept seems refreshing today, in RHTDM it was ahead of its time and Madhavan did have to take a lot of critique for it.

Madhavan said, “We let Saif (Ali Khan) be the guy who always has the perfect hair, the perfect physique, the perfect everything. Madhav Shastri is the church mouse. He is the harfanmaula, the wild guy who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about how he looks.”

The actor further added, “But that was misinterpreted. They said I didn’t look like a Hindi film hero. I was scruffy and sweaty with hair was all over the place. They were right. But we had decided that. If you’re out in the wind, your hair is going to blow in the wrong direction. That’s real. We wanted that. We wanted to drive home the fact that you could be someone like Madhav Shastri and still go after someone like Reena, maybe get snubbed or boxed in your nose. But who knows, she just may turn around and say yes to you. We wanted to make sure that at no time Madhav Shastri looks like somebody larger than life. And we faced a lot of flak for it.”

Madhavan’s character ultimately got its due appreciation over time and for the fans of the romantic drama his character had an undeniable appeal which still drives them to keep revisiting the film.