R Madhavan’s son Vedant was at a critical stage in his athletic development when Covid-19 lockdowns shuttered facilities across the country in 2020. Madhavan explained that children between nine and fifteen pass through a major growth spurt, a window when consistent training and proper nutrition are essential. Vedant’s growth spurt arrived precisely when he had nowhere to train. His mother Sarita made the call. In August 2020, she packed and left for Dubai with Vedant, where facilities remained open. Madhavan followed after settling affairs back home.
The gamble paid off. Vedant trained intensely in Dubai and began winning medals for India. Four years later, the family remains there, and Madhavan said he felt “extremely grateful” for the opportunity the move created.
Yet his relationship with Dubai runs deeper than a single parenting decision. He has worked there for nearly 25 years as an actor, watching the city transform across decades. What strikes him most is not the gleaming infrastructure or the safety that tourists praise, but the underlying vision that built it. “The vision of one man and what has been achieved over the last quarter century gives you confidence that if you have vision and passion, nothing is impossible,” he said. He marveled at how quickly the city evolves, joking that Google Maps needs weekly updates as new roads appear.
Madhavan offered what he calls his “three Dubais” framework. The first is the Dubai tourists see: malls, shopping, the Museum of the Future, sightseeing. The second is where expatriates actually live. Nearly 90 percent of the UAE’s population consists of expats, and life here centers on paddle, sailing, biking, golf and community. Children attend school alongside classmates from Palestine, Germany, France, Pakistan and dozens of other nations, growing up fluent in cultural difference. The third Dubai belongs to Emirati locals, who are close-knit, proud of their heritage, and quietly run the country with what Madhavan called “incredible dignity.”
Despite four years in the Gulf, he insists his primary identity and professional base remain Indian. “All my work is still in India. All my taxes are paid in India. Around 90 percent of everything I do is back home,” he said. He spends roughly five to five-and-a-half months each year shooting films across the country, navigating the tax obligations of non-resident status. His father’s career in the Indian Army, posted in Chennai and later Wellington, gave him early exposure to different regions and languages, a background he believes helps him adapt to filming in various parts of India.
India’s uniqueness, Madhavan stressed, cannot be replicated anywhere. “There’s a certain excitement about being Indian, our society, our culture, Ganpati celebrations, children playing cricket in the building, neighbours sharing food… those are things you can never replace,” he said. He visits regularly, spending ten to fifteen days there on a rolling basis. “No matter where you live, Dubai or anywhere else in the world, you’re first an Indian. That’s something to be proud of.”
Meanwhile, in Dubai, Madhavan has pursued a deliberate practice of learning one entirely new skill each year. During the pandemic, he earned his captain’s licence, studying for two weeks, passing exams, and completing practical training to navigate his small family boat despite having no prior maritime experience. He attributes this approach to lifelong curiosity. “The biggest lesson I’ve learnt in life is that you have to keep researching and learning,” he said. “If you’re genuinely curious about something, you’ll naturally spend time researching it without even realising it.”
Beyond acting, Madhavan is preparing to launch a South Indian filter coffee brand in Dubai. He searched extensively for authentic filter coffee made the traditional way, with proper decoction and correct preparation, found the market gap, and says the product is ready and nearing launch.
On fitness and nutrition, he has moved away from rigid routines. He practices intermittent fasting, sometimes going 16 to 18 hours without eating, consuming food only when genuinely hungry rather than by schedule. He has spent years researching how hunter-gatherers lived and how fasting supports cellular regeneration, noting that constant eating is a recent habit in human history. He said he has discussed his research with leading medical experts who have not dismissed the science, even if they have not fully endorsed it either.
Whether the coffee brand lands as planned, and whether Vedant’s medals keep coming, will be the next chapters in a family story that began with a mother packing bags in August 2020 and betting on an open pool.