R Madhavan reveals he was ‘sh***ing bricks’ while playing an 18-year-old at 40 in '3 Idiots': ‘Guys sudying in that college were bald’

R Madhavan has revealed his initial nervousness about playing a college student at the age of 40 in the iconic film '3 Idiots'. In a recent interview, he shared that the role, which has since become one of his most memorable performances, initially caused him some doubt.
Madhavan about playing in '3 Idiots'

The 2009 Rajkumar Hirani-directed film saw Madhavan team up with Aamir Khan and Sharman Joshi to portray engineering students. However, at the time of shooting, all three actors were much older than typical college students — Aamir was 44, Sharman 30, and Madhavan 40. The age difference was something the trio discussed and worried about before stepping into their characters. “I was sh**ting bricks when I was doing 3 Idiots as I was 40 years old at that time. Oh my God! It’s a miracle that we passed off as college students,” Madhavan said in a conversation with News18. His character was shown during his college years and later in his late 30s in the film.




Madhavan recalled that real students on campus looked even more mature. He said, “But the funny part was, when we went to the college and got into our attires, we were looking younger than the actual students there. That’s what gave us the confidence. Thankfully, Aamir (Khan), Sharman (Joshi), and I weren’t bald. Guys studying in that college were bald or had grey hair. We had to ask them if they were students or professors. When they said they were students, we were like, ‘Achchi baat hai, bhai! Now we feel much younger’.”


Aamir also shared similar concern

Much of the film was shot at the IIM Bangalore campus. Aamir had earlier expressed similar hesitations. During his appearance on The Great Indian Kapil Show, he admitted to initially turning down the role out of fear of appearing unconvincing as a teenager.


'3 Idiots' went on to become one of the most beloved films in Indian cinema. The film also featured Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh, and Boman Irani in pivotal roles.


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