Madhavan Turns ‘India’s Edison’

After playing Nambi Narayanan in Rocketry: The Nambi Effect and an Ajit Doval-inspired character in Dhurandhar, R. Madhavan takes on another real-life figure. In GDN, he plays inventor Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, widely known as the “Edison of India.”

Portraying Naidu across different phases of his life required a major physical transformation and extensive prep.“I am not doing these great men any favour,” Madhavan says. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to play people like Nambi Narayanan, Ajit Doval and now G.D. Naidu. They were silent achievers who simply did what they believed they were meant to do.”

On missing out on playing Srinivasa Ramanujan in The Man Who Knew Infinity — a role that went to Dev Patel — Madhavan says, “None at all. Every role has its own destiny. I focus on what I have, not what I don’t.”

Speaking about playing G.D. Naidu, he adds, “It wasn’t easy. I had to peel through layers of his personality to reach his core. India has many such unsung heroes and I’m happy to bring some of their stories to the audience.”