When Madhavan ‘insulted’ Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan in hilarious video, called them fools. Watch

Actor R Madhavan is celebrating his 51st birthday on Tuesday. While a lot of attention is given to his age-defying looks and talent, we rarely consider his public speaking skills. He not only held his own once, but outwitted possibly the wittiest superstar of Indian cinema, Shah Rukh Khan.

Back in the day, Shah Rukh Khan had turned several well-known award ceremony shows into an impromptu stage for roasting the who’s who of the Indian film industry. During one such award ceremony, SRK and his co-host Saif Ali Khan tried to crack a few jokes at the expense of Madhavan. However, little did they know that it would be Madhavan who would have the last laugh.

SRK and Saif made some funny assumptions about what R in R. Madhavan stands for. “Rated?, Real?,” asks SRK. “Really Talented?,” piles on Saif. It is “Ranganathan,” politely answered Madhavan. And then, SRK asked Madhavan to teach him a few lines in Tamil in a video that is online.

Saif recalled a popular dialogue from his hit romantic movie, Loke Aaj Kaal. “Romeo and Juliet, Heer Ranjha, Laila Majnu, by the way tumne notice kiya hain desi love stories me hamesha ladki ka naam hamesha pehle aata hain (Have you noticed the woman’s name always takes the precedence in the title of all Indian love stories?),” Saif says as he asked Madhavan to translate the lines in Tamil and teach it to him and SRK. Madhavan gives it a shot. And it kind of becomes a learning opportunity for two of Bollywood’s biggest stars. They couldn’t repeat a single word of the dialogue after Madhavan converted it into Tamil. SRK and Saif are caught off guard, leaving everyone in the audience, including AR Rahman, in splits.

Towards the end of the conversation, SRK asked Madhavan, “Everybody has to insult us tonight. Would like to insult us in Tamil?” It seemed SRK didn’t have to ask Madhavan twice. “Go away, you fools,” Madhavan retorted. And thanks to their great sense of humour, SRK and Saif took that insult in the right spirit and laughed it off.

On the career front, Madhavan is currently waiting for the release of Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. The biopic film marks Madhavan’s debut as a director. In addition to wielding the megaphone, he has also played the lead role in the film, which is based on the times and struggles of rocket scientist Nambi Narayanan. Interestingly, Shah Rukh Khan has also played a cameo in the film.