Koffee with Madhavan - An affair to remember

Left to Right : Shantanu Keskar (Maharashtra Mandal Chicago), Court Clayton (Habitat for Humanity), R. Madhavan, Niteen Joshi, 2011 Convention Chief

CHICAGO: Maharashtra Mandal of Chicago organized a press conference "Koffee with Madhavan", a popular movie actor who is on a tour of four cities in USA to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity, a global organization which is to build houses for the poor in Maharashtra.

The venue was the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows, a north side suburb of Chicago. The now famous Bollywood star Madhavan known to many as Maddy gave a performance but it was a different style and mode than the one he is noted for.

Maharashtra Mandal seized the opportunity and announced that the event was also a kick off function for the upcoming international convention of Brihan Maharashtra Mandal in Chicago on July 21-24, 2011. Community leader Naren Patel of Medstar accompanied with Bina Patel of a Cook County Circuit court Clerk office was present.

He was one of the main sponsors and he welcomed the move by Madhavan in helping homeless across the world.  Madhavan did go to Haiti also and had a first hand feel of the devastation wrought by the recent earthquake.

Unlike a typical Bollywood style program, this event was a totally informal affair without any songs and dances yet it left the audience spellbound for over two hours. In his amazing life story, Maddy proved his public relations skills by connecting to the audience. His down to earth approach towards life and his simplicity as a human being are exemplary.

Niteen Joshi, the chief convener of the Convention welcomed the audience and briefly explained about the convention activities. Ms. Kalpana Nimkar of Maharashtra Mandal hosted the show and graciously introduced Madhavan to the audience followed by a simple question like, who he was and how he became what he is today.

When asked how he became a movie star, Maddy gave a first hand account of his life right from his school days at Jamshedpur. Born in a typical "Iyengar" family, Maddy's journey to stardom is an enchanting story.

In his trademark witty and truthful monologue he elaborated his life story with his days in Alberta, Canada as an exchange student of Rotary International, his first crush, his struggles as an engineering student in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, his first profession as a self-made public speaking tutor to his miraculous entry as a TV star and subsequent success in Tamil and Hindi films as an accomplished actor.

A Tamil Brahmin boy born in Chennai, made his way to stardom in Bollywood. In his recent very successful film "3 idiots" he is one of the idiots. His new film "Teen Patti" with Amitabh Bachchan is ready to be released. 

Madhavan showed a few clips from his favorite Tamil and Hindi movies with his narration of behind the scene stories and admiration for stalwart film makers like Mani Ratnam and Kamal Hasan. The second session was of Q&A. Several members of the enthusiastic audience asked questions ranging from his personal life to his political beliefs.

India Post posed a question on problems faced by India "What does he think the biggest problem India is facing today as a nation?" … and Madhavan in his typical forthright manner replied:  "it's definitely hostile neighbors, who are troubling us too much."  Elaborating, he observed that "Our problem is not as much with the government. It is largely external." Asked if he had any political ambition, he smilingly sidelined the question.

Members of the audience loved Madhavan's unassuming style and simplicity despite his stardom and popularity. A representative from Habitat, Court Clayton also addressed the crowd and explained about projects undertaken by the organization globally and specifically in India.

The event was also attended by many eminent community leaders in Chicago area including the former Asst. State Treasurer, Raja Krishnamoorthy. Raja also addressed the audience and vowed that despite his narrow loss at the recent election for State Comptroller, he has big plans for returning to Illinois politics and he is likely to bid for Lieutenant Governor. 

The audience mobbed Maddy for autographs and snaps. Maddy did not disappoint anybody and once again proved he is truly a people person.