Madhavan the cute heartthrob from South Indian cinema, was born in a Tamil middle class family. He was brought up in Jamshedpur. His parents wanted their first-born to be an engineer, but his interest as it turned out, lay in becoming a good communicator and an actor. Madhavan, after finishing school at Jamshedpur, was selected by the Rotary International, to represent India as a Cultural Ambassador to Canada for a year. After coming from there he did his graduation in Electronics from Shivaji University, Kolapur.

While studying for his graduation, Madhavan learnt that one of the quickest ways to earn good money was to start a ten-day crash course on Public Speaking. Madhavan was the state as well as the national champion in public speaking, hence he was invited to Japan to attend the `Young Businessmen's' conference. It was in one of these courses that Maddy met his wife Sarita.

Maddy, as he is fondly called,  was looking for a chance that would take him back to Canada. Realizing that the best NCC Cadets would be sent abroad, Madhavan enrolled in the NCC and emerged as the "best army" cadet of Maharashtra in 1992 & was then selected to represent India in England. He stayed & trained with the Royal Navy, Army, Air Force during the visit. He was also a national level basketball player.

Madhavan first came to lime light when declared the `Model Of The Week' on Zee TV's show `Khoobsurat'. He was instantly offered a role as a convict in Yule Love Stories but it was `Tol Mol Ke Bol' which was aired first. He then acted in many other serials like 'Sea Hawks', 'Yeh Kahan Aa Gaye Hum', 'A Mouthful Of Sky' etc. The first role that Madhavan got to play was the character of Ashley in 'Banegi Apni Baat'. Apart form serials he also did a few adds & it was in Ponds add that he was noticed by Mr. Santosh Shivan who in turn proposed his name to Mr. Mani Ratnam.

With the release of his first film 'Alaipayuthey'(2000) in lead role, Madhavan has risen to absolute stardom. And with the next super hit 'Minnale'(2001), he is being called the "Hrithik of Tamil Movie Industry".  

Madhavan forayed into Bollywood in 2001 with Gautham Menon's 'Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein' opposite Dia Mirza. The film did average business at the box office but made him a household name. He was then seen in dud 'Dil Vil Pyar Vyar' (2002) before taking a sabbatical from Bollywood to concentrate on Tamil films. And he succeeded in making it big in the south. He also acted in Kannad Films. His debut film was 'Shanthi Shanthi Shanthi' in Kannada, in which he acted in the second lead role. His major tamil hit films includes 'Kannathil Muthamittal' (2002), 'Run'(2002), 'Aayitha Ezhuthu '(2004). 

Three years later, the actor resurfaced in Hindi films with 'Ramji Londonwaley'(2005), a Hindi remake of Tamil film 'Nala Damayanthi'. But the film didn't work and once again the actor failed to resurrect his Bollywood career.

Lady Luck smiled on him in 2006 and his flagging Hindi film career got a new lease of life with a cameo in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's super hit 'Rang De Basanti'. This was followed by a pivotal role in Mani Ratnam's 'Guru' (2007). In Guru he made his onscreen kiss debut with actress Vidya Balan and later, Maddy has claimed that the kiss will be his first and last on-screen. After Guru, he did cameo appearances in movies like 'Delhii Heights'(2007) and critically acclaimed 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' (2008).

On the personal front, Maddy is truly a family man for whom family reigns supreme. A strict vegetarian, Maddy was voted the "cutest male vegetarian" in an online poll by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2006. Today the boyish "Maddy" makes the most loved hero in cinema Industry .