R Madhavan defends stalking Dia Mirza in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein: 'Can't meet a girl without following, tracking her'

R Madhavan has said that he does not agree with those calling the stalking angle in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein ‘problematic’.

Actor R Madhavan has discussed the controversial stalking track in his Bollywood debut Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. The 2001 cult classic launched Madhavan in Hindi films and also starred Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan. The film saw his character - Maddy - stalk and lie to Dia Mirza's character in order to get close to her. (

R Madhavan and Dia Mirza in Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein.

Madhavan on Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein

While Maddy's motivations were never questioned, fans have called the film out for glorifying 'problematic' behaviour. However, Madhavan does not agree with that assessment. In an interaction with Mashable India, he argued, “Main inn sab baaton se bilkul sehmati nahi rakhta. Ye green flag, blue flag ye sab cheezein nikkamme logon ka nikkamma kaam hai. Mera maanna hai ki ek gentleman hona zaroori hai. Bachpan se hume sikhaya gaya hai ki ladies se kaise baat ki jaaye, kaise unhe approach kiya jaaye, aur ye hamesha hamari sanskriti ka ek hissa raha hai. Badmaash toh hote hi hain. Par aap hume Western yardstick se judge nahi kar sakte (I completely disagree with all this. These concepts like green flag, blue flag—these are just meaningless things said by idle people. I believe it’s important to be a gentleman. Since childhood, we were taught how to talk to women, how to approach them, and this has always been a part of our culture. Of course, there are troublemakers everywhere, but you can’t judge us using a Western yardstick).”

The actor doubled down on it later in the conversation and said that in big cities, it is often impossible to meet girls without 'tracking' or 'following' them. He said, “I ask those who call it problematic – back in the day, if we wanted to meet a girl in Mumbai, we did it with love and respect. If we were in an unfamiliar city and wanted to meet a girl, how would we do it? Without tracking her, without following her home, you couldn’t contact her. How could anyone do it?”

All about Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein

Directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein was a remake of the director's Tamil film Minnale. It starred Madhavan, Dia Mirza, and Saif Ali Khan, with Madhavan reprising his role from the Tamil original. Earning ₹13 crore, RHTDM was a moderate box office success, but its music was a smash hit. Over the years, it has attained cult status among fans.