R Madhavan says son Vedaant's generation is disconnected from Indian cinema: 'They're watching Japanese anime'

Looking at his 20-year-old son Vedaant and others from his generation, the actor said he notices a growing disconnect with Indian cinema.

R Madhavan believes Indian cinema is facing a new challenge, and it isn't coming from within the country. While promoting his upcoming biographical drama GDN, the actor spoke about what he sees as a growing disconnect between Gen Z and Indian films, saying younger audiences are increasingly turning to Korean content, Japanese anime and other international entertainment.

What he said

R Madhavan worries son Vedaant's generation is drifting away from Indian cinema.

While speaking to Cinema Express, R Madhavan opened up about a concern that has become increasingly personal for him. Looking at his 20-year-old son Vedaant and others from his generation, the actor said he notices a growing disconnect with Indian cinema. He admitted it is something that genuinely worries him.

"I've got one fear I don't even want to think about. For sure, until now, I've earned his respect. Now he's 20 years old. But if you look at my younger generation, they're totally disconnected from him. It's a big problem. They're watching Japanese anime, they're watching Korean content. But they don't even want to watch our Tamil movies. They won't go to the theatre to watch Hindi movies or Indian movies either," Madhavan remarked.

He said the experiences he has gathered over the years made him crave roles with greater emotional depth. For a long time, he felt he hadn't been given the opportunity to fully showcase his abilities as an actor. So when scripts that challenged him finally came his way, he chose them over playing it safe with another routine commercial entertainer.

R Madhavan says storytellers must inspire audiences

Rather than pointing fingers at audiences for changing their viewing habits, Madhavan believes the film industry needs to ask itself some difficult questions. According to him, the responsibility of winning viewers back lies with storytellers, directors and actors who have the power to create films that leave a lasting impact.

"What's happening in Tamil Nadu is happening all over the world. How empowered are our people? How aware are they? But beyond that, how inspirational are we when we come forward? A storyteller, a director, or an actor, how inspirational are we really?" he asked.

What is GDN about?

GDN brings to the screen the remarkable journey of Gopalaswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, the visionary inventor and industrialist from Coimbatore who is widely known as the Edison of India. Without any formal engineering education, Naidu went on to create India's first electric motor and even dreamed of building a car that could rival Mercedes, making his life story one of innovation and determination.

Led by R. Madhavan, the pan-India biographical drama is now set for a worldwide theatrical release on August 7, 2026, after being postponed from its earlier July release date.