R. Madhavan on Returning to Romance in Netflix’s Aap Jaisa Koi: ‘There are only a few chances left to star in a love story and fewer that feel this honest.’ Talking about unconditional love, he spoke about how his grandparents loved each other.
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In the Netflix film Aap Jaisa Koi, Madhavan plays Shrirenu Tripathi, a 42-year-old Sanskrit teacher from Jamshedpur who finds himself opening up in unexpected ways after meeting Madhu Bose, a confident and self-assured French teacher in her 30s, played by Fatima Sana Shaikh.
_Aap Jaisa Koi_, directed by Vivek Soni (Meenakshi Sundareshwar), trades grand gestures for quiet moments of connection, offering a refreshing take on what love can look like in your 40s; awkward and restrained, but deeply felt and mature.
“I didn’t choose this to go back to romance. I chose it because it was an interesting story, age appropriate, and topical,” Madhavan shares. “There are only a few chances left to star in a love story — and fewer that feel this honest.”
On love
Madhavan in an interview with Firstpost mentioned that love on a dating app starts with objectification. Talking about unconditional love in an interview with Firstpost, Madhavan mentioned, “I have seen that in my grandparents. They grew up in a very different society. Everybody’s role was cut out and my grandmother was probably fourteen or fifteen when she got married. And my grandfather was probably 21 or 22. That was the norm then and they had babies too when they were very young.”
They lived a life of love for eighty years. In the last four years, I would see my grandfather would literally worry to the core to make sure that my grandmother was okay. He used to keep on asking, ‘has she eaten, has she taken her medicines?” He knew everything about her including her favourite colour. So, the amount of attention and care he used to show at 80, for me that kind of love was absolutely pure. He was so particular, that he wouldn’t eat till she had eaten. I realised that the circumstances under which they would have fallen in love were very different. It could have been forced companionship, it could have been a marriage that was arranged. But the definition of barabari (equality) was very different then and very different now and I think it will be very different for my son’s generation.
On working with
Fatima Sana Sheikh
Working with
Fatima, he says, was both a joy and a responsibility. “She’s a dynamic, younger actor — and I had to make sure the pairing looked palatable. But she’s also incredibly charming, and I have a lot of affection and respect for her. It was honestly too short a shoot!” Fatima, for her part, calls Madhavan “emotionally intelligent and sharp,” saying, “I learned something from him every day on set.”
In Aap Jaisa Koi, Shrirenu (R Madhavan) is forced to confront his inherent biases and confront his inadequacies. The film’s central idea of barabari wala pyaar (equal love) resonated deeply with him: “A story like this accelerates how we redefine love and relationships in today’s world. Without it, that messaging takes longer to reach the audience.”
With heartfelt storytelling and performances that linger, Madhavan’s return to romance is not just nostalgic — it’s necessary.
Aap Jaisa Koi is streaming on Netflix
WATCH the trailer of Aap Jaisa Koi here
