Madhavan defends stalking in Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, says no other way to approach a girl but ‘follow her’: ‘Can’t judge on Western yardstick’

R Madhavan and Dia Mirza-starrer Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein did not work at the box office when it released but in the years since, the film has developed quite a following. In the first few years, fans expressed their love for the characters but later, as they evolved, they started to see the problematic aspects of the film. The film’s lead character lies and stalks the woman he likes, and is rewarded for his misdeeds. Now, Madhavan has spoken about these aspects and said that back in the day, there was no other way to approach a woman other than stalking.

Disagreeing with the criticism, Madhavan shared on Mashable India that he doesn’t agree with the criticism. He said that the film was being judged on a “Western yardstick” which wasn’t fair. “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).”

He then went on to say that there was no other way to approach a woman back in the day so following her around was the only way. “Main aapse puchta hoon, jo log problematic bolte hain. Uss zamane mein agar Mumbai mein kisi ladki se hume mulaqat karni hoti, hum dil se mohabbat karte hai aur izzat se milna chahte hai. Toh kaise mile? (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?)”

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Madhavan then questioned that in Western countries, people meet at bars and it is considered totally acceptable. He added that if someone fell in love with a woman in those days, one had to track the woman, follow her to her house and then contact her as otherwise, there was no other way. “Aap usko track kiye bagair, uske peeche jaakar voh kahan rehti hai, voh jaane bagair, use contact kar hi nahi sakte. Kaise karta koi insan? (Without tracking her, without following her home, you couldn’t contact her. How could anyone do it?)” He also added that his character Madhav Shastri in the film did not have any other option but to stalk her.

The 2001 Gautham Vasudev Menon film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein was the Hindi remake of his own Tamil film Minnale. Produced by Vashu Bhagnani’s Pooja Entertainment, the film marked the Bollywood debuts of both Madhavan and actor Dia Mirza. The film also featured Saif Ali Khan.