R Madhavan’s ‘Cringe’ Moment in 3 Idiots – ‘I Was Sh**ting Bricks During 3 Idiots’
R Madhavan has shared a cringe-worthy yet hilarious experience of portraying a college student at the age of 40 in the iconic Bollywood film 3 Idiots (2009). Starring alongside Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi, Madhavan revealed the anxiety he felt when tasked with convincing audiences that he was an 18-year-old engineering student, despite being decades older.
In a recent interview with News 18 Showsha, R Madhavan admitted that the pressure of playing such a young character left him “sh**ting bricks.” “I was 40 years old at the time. Oh my god! It’s a miracle we passed off as college students,” he said. The actor, alongside Aamir (who was 44) and Sharman (30), was unsure whether they could truly pass as college students. But as it turns out, their fears were unwarranted.
“We were looking younger than the actual students at the college,” R Madhavan revealed, laughing at how their costumes and looks somehow made them appear younger than the real students on set. “That’s what gave us the confidence,” he added. The transformation was so effective that Madhavan jokingly mentioned how many of the real students at the college were bald or had grey hair. “We had to ask them if they were students or professors,” he said. “When they said they were students, we were like, ‘Achchi baat hai, bhai! Now we feel much younger!’”
R Madhavan ’s character, Farhan Qureshi, is one of the three main students in the film, alongside Aamir’s Rancho and Sharman’s Raju. Despite being in their 30s and 40s, the actors portrayed 18-year-olds, which, in hindsight, became a remarkable feat in itself. A large portion of 3 Idiots was filmed at the IIM Bangalore campus, further adding to the authenticity of their college experience.
However, R Madhavan wasn’t the only one worried about their age gap. Aamir Khan also had his own reservations before accepting the role of an 18-year-old. In a past interview on The Great Indian Kapil Show, Aamir admitted he was hesitant to take on the role, fearing that the audience would laugh at him for playing a college student at the age of 44. “I wasn’t even doing 3 Idiots because I thought the public would laugh at me,” Aamir said. Despite his doubts, director Rajkumar Hirani’s persistence eventually won him over.
But in the end, both R Madhavan and Aamir’s performances were widely embraced by fans. The film’s heartwarming mix of humor, social commentary, and its portrayal of the pressure students face resonated deeply with audiences, making 3 Idiots one of the most successful and beloved films in Indian cinema.
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