R Madhavan or popularly known by his acronym, Maddy, is a born star. The actor needs no introduction, as it is not just with his handsome looks that he won the hearts of his audience, but also his charming personality and strong acting mettle, which has the ability to pierce through the minds of his fans, leaving a lasting impression. In his personal life, this shy romantic boy fell in love with a former air hostess, Sarita Birje. And ever since their marriage, there has been no looking back for the duo. Well then, take a look at their uniquely woven love story!
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Before joining mainstream acting, Maddy was a hardcore intellectual. After completing his degree in electronics engineering, was desirous of joining the army to serve the nation. But after heeding onto his parent’s insistence, he later took up management and, after acing in it for quite some time, started to coach students for communication and public speaking. It was once during his class in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, where he met his future soulmate, Sarita. She came to attend his lectures as means of training before fulfilling her aspiration of being an air hostess. In an interview with The Times Of India, Madhavan recalled his first meeting with Sarita, and said:
“I was teaching a personality development class in Kolhapur when I met Sarita. She was aspiring for a job in an airliner and attended my classes. When she finally bagged the cat, she thought it was in part, due to my classes and took me to a ‘thank you’ dinner. That’s how it started.”
After gaining a lot of help from Madhavan’s excellent coaching leading her to grab an opportunity in an airline company, the thankful student, Sarita, was so overwhelmed that she invited her teacher for a surprise dinner. On the other hand, as Madhavan had started to feel something different for Sarita by then, he grabbed the opportunity for the first time. In an interview with PTI, Madhavan opened up on his dinner date with his then-student, Sarita and mentioned:
“Sarita was my student and she asked me out on a date one day. I was a dark man and thought it was an opportunity. Didn't know if I would ever get married so I grabbed on to the opportunity and married her."
As destiny would have wanted, this informal dinner date as a token of thanks became something entirely different for the duo. It laid the bonds of love and commitment, post which there was no turning back. So, after dating each other for eight years, the couple tied the knot in 1999 in a traditional Tamil wedding. The marriage proved lucky for the actor, as it was only after this that the long years of frequent rejections into mainstream acting were fulfilled when he got the opportunity to star in Mani Ratnam’s film, Alayi Payutham, released in 2000, making him an instant success.
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It was finally in 2001 when Madhavan got his big Bollywood break with the film, Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein opposite the then-debutant actress, Dia Mirza. While the film was not a commercial success, however, it went on to make its position as one of the most remarkable cult films of the decade. But, on the other hand, this was also when Maddy was just married to Sarita and did not want to leave her alone. Therefore, he devised a plan to take along his wifey to his outdoor shoot schedules so that the couple won't miss out on their time together. Once in an interview with the Times Of India, Maddy recalled the same and mentioned:
“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 schedule. When Sarita sees me in a romantic scene, she knows the sentiments behind it are not real."
Even after so many years of their togetherness, the couple has managed to stay together despite all the trials and tribulations in life. While one may be curious how their beloved Maddy manages to keep his professional commitments in perfect balance with his personal life, he once shared how he has completely given off the responsibility of his financial management to his wifey. In an interview with The Times Of India, R Madhavan spoke at length about the same and mentioned:
“Hand over your money to your wife, as she can definitely look after it better than you. When you have an argument, don’t try to prove a point just because you are the man of the house. Look at the final outcome, and you’ll see that women always manage to wrestle a victory. We expect and allow each other to make mistakes. I am in charge of making the money, and she takes care of investment, keeping the home and planning our holidays. I defer to her in financial matters. I don’t ask her why or what went wrong that lead to any loss.”
For anything in the world, Maddy’s love for his wifey is superseded by his respect for her. Therefore, he makes sure to evolve their relationship healthier every day by giving his wife the necessary space she needs and never poking his nose in her business. In his words:
“After so many years of marriage, too many questions only cause irritation. I never ask Sarita where she is going, with whom or when she’ll be back. She needs to let her hair down and she knows I want to be at home and nest. We don’t insist on going out with each other and neither has to explain who they are with.”
The perfect match-made-in-heaven, Madhavan and Sarita embraced parenthood in the year 2005 when they were blessed with their son, Vedaant. The couple decided to keep their son completely out of the limelight, so as to ensure he does not take his father’s fame for granted. However, indeed their son turned out to be a prodigy, as his excellence in swimming won him the gold medal in the Danish Open Championship in 2022. He is also a recipient of the gold medal at the Junior National Aquatics Championships 2022.
Truly, R Madhavan and Sarita Birje’s love story is every bit magical. What do you think?
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