Madhavan rues not getting residuals for 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti: ‘Could’ve fed generations’

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 14, 2026 05:10 PM IST

When R Madhavan rued Bollywood for not paying residuals after 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti

In Hollywood, stars continue to earn money for their past work. However, this concept is absent in the Hindi cinema, making it difficult for actors to take bigger risks. In an old interview, R Madhavan had rued Bollywood for not following a similar model in India. The actor admitted that he would have had enough money to feed generations if he was still receiving residuals from his three hit films – 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti, and Tanu Weds Manu.

During a conversation with Akshaye Rathi earlier, Madhavan was asked if Shah Rukh Khan made a wise choice in turning producer early in his career to make more profits from his films. “One cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach,” he said, adding that the ‘upper echelon’ of film stars can do this, but those belonging to a lower level of Bollywood do not have the same financial security. While talking to India Tv Showbiz’ YouTube channel, he expressed, “If you’re commanding double-digit salaries, the rules that apply to them are different, simply because they have secured their future.”

The actor further shared that stars become habitual to a particular lifestyle, but very less people understand that they shouldn’t spend more than their means. “Their (A-list stars’) salaries are such that they can afford to life this lifestyle for the rest of their lives. If I was a Hollywood actor, and I had the number of hits that I’ve had in my life, do you think that there would be a second thought before I jumped into (a risky project)? I would jump into it in an instant, because I knew that my future generations are taken care of with just three blockbusters.”

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R Madhavan added, “But when you know that there is no pension, but you’ve built a lifestyle that you need to maintain, then you start thinking ‘paise toh lelo, pata nahi kal milega ke nahi milega’. The judiciary has to support the contracts that we sign’.”

Madhavan suggested that faulty payments are a norm in the industry, but nobody bothers to challenge them because they don’t have the time or resources. He added, “The moment residuals are possible, I’m sure everybody would like to jump in because then you can do the kind of work that you want.”

He then gave late actor Amrish Puri’s example and said that if he was a Hollywood star, he would still be making money from some of his successful movies. “There’s a famous story that Mr Amrish Puri is still getting residuals for the Steven Spielberg movie that he did. If I was a Hollywood actor, two or three films would be enough – maybe 3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti, and Tanu Weds Manu – to feed the rest of my generations if they live sensibly,” he shared.

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Residuals are like royalties, which are paid to every person who has worked on a certain film or show whenever it earns profit, either through television, OTT mediums, or other distribution channels.