Rocketry The Nambi Effect star R Madhavan reveals why he rejected Suriya starrer Ghajini

R Madhavan was last week's guest on actor-producer Suriya's live Instagram session to promote the latter's most recent film, Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. The two were unafraid to express their appreciation and affection for one another during the talk.

“I was living a very laid-back life. I still remember, when you were doing Nerrukku Ner, I gave you advice on how to act. After that, we started hanging out a lot. At that point, all my films were doing just fine. I became sort of complacent. Some films brought me a good name, some made me famous,” Madhavan recalled.

The actor also disclosed that he was the director AR Murugadoss' initial pick to portray the part of a man in Ghajini who has a bad memory and embarks on a killing spree to revenge his lover.

“I was offered a film called Ghajini. I didn’t like the story. So I told Murugdoss sir that I am not happy with the second half. And that film eventually came to you. I saw what you did in Kaakha Kaakha. So I felt that the film has gone to the right person. And you proved it. Ghajini becoming a hit was a very big thing. But, I also saw how much effort you put in for that. That six-pack, I had then wondered whether I could have done this thing. I remember you telling me that you didn’t eat salt for a week. And that made me question the choices I was making in my career. I felt I was not doing enough justice to my career. And I began following the advice that I gave you. I used you as an example,” said Madhavan.

For the uninitiated, Christopher Nolan's career-launching film Memento served as an inspiration for Ghajini. At the box office, the Tamil adaptation was a huge success. The Hindi remake of the movie, directed by Murugadoss and starring Aamir Khan, earned the most money in Bollywood in 2008.