Madhavan is an Indian actor writer and film producer Madhavan has received two Filmfare Awards an award from the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards alongside recognition and nominations from other organisations He has been described as one of the few actors in India who is able to achieve panIndian appeal appearing in films from seven different languages Madhavan began his acting career with television guest appearances including a role on the Zee TV primetime soap opera Banegi Apni Baat in 1996 After appearing in commercials and in small roles he later gained recognition in the Tamil film industry through Mani Ratnams successful romance film Alaipayuthey 2000 In addition to his acting career Madhavan has worked as a writer on his films hosted television programmes and has been a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products5 He has also worked as a film producer first making Evano Oruvan with Leukos Films before setting up Tricolour Films to produce Saala Khadoos 2016 Madhavan is noted for his philanthropic activities and promotes various causes such as environment health and education He is particularly vocal about the protection of animals and was awarded PETAs Person of the Year recognition in 2012 Madhavan was born to a Tamil family His father Ranganathan was a management executive in Tata Steel and his mother Saroja was a manager in the Bank of India His younger sister Devika is a software engineer settled in the United Kingdom6 He had a Tamilspeaking upbringing in Bihar