For that luck factor

At Madhavan’s behest, Tanu Weds Manu makers add his entry scene at the airport, just like in 3 Idiots.

For eons now we’ve heard of stars being superstitious about their films. They are also known to go to any length to ensure that things are done as per their beliefs. However, this time, for a change, we’re not talking about Govinda, but R. Madhavan, who requested director Anand Rai to shoot the opening scene of Tanu Weds Manu at the Hyderabad airport. The reason was because he had a similar entry scene in 3 Idiots, which went on to make box-office history.

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We don’t know if the actor is implying that Teen Patti tanked because he didn’t have any scene at an airport, but that’s another story. Point is that Maddy’s forthcoming movie, also featuring Kangna Ranaut and Jimmy Sheirgill, starts with a scene where he lands at Delhi airport from London, and then thereby goes on his quest to find himself a bride. Interestingly, it was at his behest that Rai incorporated this sequence in the film.

R. Madhavan

Elaborating on the relevance of an airport scene, our source associated with the film says, "3 Idiots starts with Maddy abandoning his Delhi-New York flight and rushing out of the airport. This sequence was in fact shot at the Hyderabad airport. Since the film went on to become a historical hit, Maddy requested Anandji to give him an entry scene at the Delhi airport."

On being contacted, director Rai said they were fine with it as Maddy felt that his opening scene had proven lucky for him in 3 Idiots and he wanted to keep that magic alive in Tanu Weds Manu also.

“The scene serves as a perfect starting point for our film’s story about the NRI hero coming to India to find a gharelu (simple) bride, but instead ends up falling in love with a small town wild girl,” he said, declining to comment on the consequent increase in the film’s budget.