‘He is a hero everywhere’: Why R Madhavan is in complete awe of Ajith Kumar

4 min readKochiJun 28, 2026 08:01 PM IST

Actors R Madhavan and Ajith Kumar share a close friendship. (Credit: X/@ActorMadhavan)

Although the two have never worked together in a movie, actors R Madhavan and Ajith Kumar have maintained a close friendship for many years. In fact, Madhavan has even visited Ajith at the venues where the latter’s racing team was in action, extending his support in person. The Rocketry star has often spoken highly of Ajith as a person and a star, expressing admiration for his pursuit of interests beyond cinema.

During an event a couple of years ago, Madhavan opened up further about their bond, pointing out that Ajith is one of those rare artistes who hasn’t made cinema his whole personality. He highlighted that Ajith has interests well beyond Tinseltown and acting, mentioning that the latter never shies away from gifting himself new experiences.

Madhavan on Ajith’s real-world grounding

“We talk frequently. The great thing about Ajith, and what I like most about him, is that it’s not just acting that he cares about. Once we enter the film industry, this will become our entire world. People around us will also always talk about the industry. The opportunity to grow and learn about the world is reduced,” Madhavan pointed out while taking part in Behindwoods Gold Hall Of Famers 2024.

The actor-director continued, “So, it is important to consciously set aside all this once in a while and step away to see where the world is heading. It is very important for an actor to also know the price of onions or sugar. I like actors who collect new experiences.”

“Ajith is like that,” he pointed out, adding, “he suddenly goes biking, or does remote-controlled flying, or car racing. He knows everything and has in-depth knowledge, not just superficial knowledge. When he entered car racing, he brought a medal for India.”

Expressing his admiration for Ajith, Madhavan noted, “I like that level of commitment. He’s not just a hero in cinema, but a hero everywhere. That’s extraordinary. I admire that a lot. From the beginning, I’ve been a friend; now, I’ve become even more of a fan as well.”

‘The only superstar who doesn’t need publicity’

During a 2025 conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Madhavan also spoke about Ajith’s command over the audience, saying he doesn’t even need to promote a film directly to make it a success. “He is the only superstar in the history of cinema who doesn’t need to do publicity for his films. For me, that is just incredible. An Ajith Kumar film is announced, and just like that, it is sold. He doesn’t do any promotions for his movies… no interviews, nothing. I don’t think Hindi actors quite understand that. An Ajith film is announced, it is sold, and it is seen. So I am in great awe of that,” he pointed out.

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Madhavan added, “I knew Ajith well before Shalini (Madhavan’s Alai Payuthey co-star) got married to him, actually. I found him to be very generous and a guy right after my own heart, because he was technologically and completely engaged with everything he did. He was a remote flyer, a racer, he knew about bikes… all the passions that I had too! It was very strange to find that sort of connection in the Tamil industry, or actually in any industry, as a matter of fact. So the connection was instant.”

Ajith Kumar was most recently seen in director Adhik Ravichandran’s Good Bad Ugly (2025). Recently, his Ajith Kumar Racing team had a historic outing at the Le Mans Cup in Le Mans, France.