- Wednesday, April 30, 2025
By: Vibhuti Pathak
With the teaser of Aap Jaisa Koi sparking excitement among his fans, actor R Madhavan is back in the romantic space that first made him a household name in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein.
But in a recent interview, the 54-year-old actor opened up about a noticeable gap in Hindi cinema—the lack of age-appropriate romantic films, especially for older audiences.
In a candid conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Madhavan shared his disappointment with the shrinking presence of romance in Bollywood’s current landscape, where action and thrillers dominate. Drawing a parallel with the Hollywood classic As Good As It Gets (1997), he pointed out how romantic stories centered around older men and women—whom he called “the most romantic people”—are rarely explored today.
“I don’t recall any romcom that has worked on OTT platforms either. I know Korean dramas work, but I haven’t seen any solid Indian romantic film, especially one that is age-appropriate for someone who’s 55,” said Madhavan.
“This generation—my generation—knows how to value relationships. We’ve lived through so much, and that depth can be beautiful on screen. It’s low-hanging fruit, but the problem is we don’t have writers who can see the romance in stories like As Good As It Gets. I still remember those dialogues!”
He rejected the idea that love stories don’t perform well anymore or lack commercial viability. Instead, he argued that a good story still matters. Referencing Shah Rukh Khan, often dubbed the “King of Romance” in Bollywood, Madhavan added, “Don’t blame the money. Get us a story, no? One that is well-researched. No one does romance like Shah Rukh, but you need a heroine of his age too. That’s getting difficult to find.”
Interestingly, in Aap Jaisa Koi, Madhavan is paired opposite Fatima Sana Shaikh, who is 21 years younger than him. Both play professors in the film, which is directed by Vivek Soni and produced under Karan Johar’s Dharmatic Entertainment banner.
This project marks Madhavan’s return to romantic films after a considerable gap. He made his Hindi film debut with Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein opposite Dia Mirza, which, despite being a moderate success initially, grew into a cult classic over the years through TV reruns and nostalgia-driven fan following. His last big screen appearance was in Kesari 2 alongside Akshay Kumar.
With Aap Jaisa Koi, Madhavan hopes to reignite Bollywood’s forgotten romance genre—not just with youthful charm, but with emotional maturity and meaningful storytelling that resonates across generations.
