R Madhavan is getting a lot of love after the recent success of ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’. However, Madhavan’s popularity among the audience, specially women, is not new. The actor has always been a favourite of many and enjoyed the ‘heartthrob’ status with films like ‘Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein’. Meanwhile, even in his personal life, Madhavan is quite a green flag. Fans love how he speaks about his wife and the fact that he’s such a family man. He celebrates his 56th birthday today and here’s recalling the advice he took from Mani Ratnam which helped in his long-standing marriage. He had once spoken about his wife on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast, “We fight as much as any couple. We have a great respect for each other. For Sarita, I am not just a national star or an actor so that she has to feel privileged to be the wife of. She’s an equal partner with the guy who fell in love with her and respects her. And I lose no opportunity to make her feel how lucky I am.” Their bond has extended beyond their personal lives into their professional journeys as well. Sarita has worked as a costume designer on several of Madhavan’s projects, including the 2009 Tamil romantic comedy Guru En Aalu. The actor once revealed that filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s advice played a significant role in shaping how they approached married life amid the demands of the film industry. “He said many couples test their relationships fatally when there is no need to. I realised that there were many temptations, being in outdoor shoots in the company of beautiful women. I took Sarita everywhere I went. This way, she was around when I got introduced to actresses. I was never lonely during my outstation schedules. When Sarita sees me in a romantic scene, she knows the sentiments behind it are not real,” he expressed.While the couple’s story is often associated with romance and loyalty, Madhavan has also shared amusing glimpses into their everyday dynamic. During a conversation with Unfiltered Entertainment, he recalled how Sarita reacted when he spent too much time at home during the pandemic.“My wife says you’ll never be able to get out of work — you do Tamil comedy, Tamil action, OTT, Hindi action, English OTT. I am surprised you are at home. During COVID in 2020, she kicked me out of the house and told me, ‘Go out, do some work, earn money,’” he said. The actor has also acknowledged Sarita’s role in helping him maintain perspective about his career. According to Madhavan, she was the first to notice when his enthusiasm for work had begun to fade.“One day, my wife asked me, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ She said that you are going to work like you want to come back from it. That actually made a lot of sense,” he said.More than three decades after they first met, Madhavan and Sarita’s relationship continues to be celebrated by fans as an example of companionship built on friendship, equality, humour, and unwavering support.
