4 min readMumbaiAug 7, 2026 08:07 AM IST
When Run released in 2002, it not only emerged as a landmark film in Tamil cinema but also transformed R Madhavan’s on-screen image. Until then largely associated with romantic roles, the film established him as a convincing action hero. In a recent interview, the actor looked back at the film’s impact and reflected on how it reshaped his career.
‘A turning point in my career’
Calling Run a defining moment, Madhavan told The Hindu, “It was a turning point in my career. I mean, after having played lovable characters, nobody expected me to wallop somebody. So when the subway scene happened, it was a huge turning point not just in the film, but in my career as well. People started attributing other qualities as an actor to me. They said, ‘He can also do action. He can also do romance and action.’”
The actor also praised director N Lingusamy for his clarity of vision. “N Lingusamy’s vision was spectacular. The first action scene, he had described it to me verbatim, exactly the way you see it in the actual film. In fact, he had said, ‘When the guy attacks you for the first time, you whack him so hard he’ll fall like a dead rat.’ And that’s exactly how the guy fell,” he recalled.
‘Mani Ratnam looked at me very differently’
Madhavan also remembered the reaction of acclaimed filmmakers Mani Ratnam and Gautham Vasudev Menon, who attended a special screening of Run. “We had a special show for Mani Ratnam sir, Gautham Vasudev Menon, and everybody. Right after the interval, they looked at me very differently. I think they hadn’t seen that possibility in me before. I remember watching Mani sir’s mind work and Gautham’s mind work while they were looking at it. They were having a conversation, but you know when they’re looking at you and taking mental notes,” he said.
Speaking specifically about the now-iconic subway sequence in Run, Madhavan revealed that it was the scene that convinced him to sign the film. “I remember saying yes to the entire film because of that shot. I remember telling, ‘If they get convinced that this is Shiva, that I’m capable of doing that, the film is a hit.’ That one shot was enough for me.” The actor also admitted that he has never formally trained for action. “I’ve never actually trained for action sequences. I see all these youngsters training in dancing and action, and I have a lot of respect for them. But for me, it’s always been about picking it up on the set as you go along.”
‘People would accept me as an action hero’
Recalling the filming of the sequence, Madhavan credited stunt choreographer Peter Hein and cinematographer Jeeva for bringing the vision to life. “The way Peter Hein choreographed that scene was brilliant. I remember we shot it on a subway set. It’s the shutter scene, but it’s actually in a subway. They created an entire set for it. We could have easily shot it in a real subway, but they built the set because Jeeva sir wanted to take the camera above the roof so that when I landed that shot, you could see him fall and never move.”
He further recalled one stunt performer whose reaction after the shot stayed with him. “When we were doing that shot, I remember this fighter very clearly, his face is still vivid in my memory. He was a very good stunt performer. I hit him, it wasn’t real contact, and the way he fell… he just hit the ground and stayed there. Every part of his body was stuck to the floor. He didn’t move. He didn’t even twitch afterwards. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is a defining moment, man.’ This was exactly how I had imagined it, and it happened. From that moment on, I knew there was a great chance people would accept me as an action hero.”
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Madhavan was last seen in Aditya Dhar’s two-part revenge action epic Dhurandhar.
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