February 26, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Madhavan missed his appointment with his 3 Idiots co-star Aamir Khan at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this month.

During his recent visit to Canada with his wife and son, Madhavan was invited by Aamir to the Sundance Film Festival.

But then man proposes God disposes.

Aamir father passed away.

Says Madhavan, “I was supposed to join Aamir at the Sundance film festival, and in fact all set to leave from Canada to the US when news came that Aamir had to rush back. Of course I was disappointed. I was hoping to participate in the festival with Aamir and catch his film Peepli Live which I haven’t seen. But more than disappointment abut missing Sundance I was concerned for Aamir’s loss. We all were.”

With Sundance cancelled Maddy decided to take a different route. He decided to do an American tour entitled Coffee With An Idiot. Explains Maddy, “It was a much selected gathering, intellectual and fun at the same time. The whole idea of Coffee With An Idiot was inspired by 3 Idiots. I wanted the film’s success to be take-off point for cozy sit-in dinners with a selected audience in four American cities namely Dallas, San Jose, New Jersey and Chicago. The interaction in each city lasted for nearly two hours.”

Just back from his Coffee With An Idiot tour, Maddy was struck by the level of intellectual and mass connectivity the NRIs in the US had with 3 Idiots. “It’s opened up a whole new discussion on the education system and the role of Indian cinema in bridging the gap between Oriental and Western perceptions on the power of the youth.”

Now Madhavan wants to take his Coffee With An Idiot discussion to other parts of the world. “In many ways I owe the concept and its success to Aamir Khan. If 3 Idiots hadn’t happened such a creative forum discussing education and the youth wouldn’t have opened up. On a more microscopic level it was Aamir’s invitation to Sundance which actually made my Coffee With An Idiot tour Possible.”

Quite like the protagonist in 3 Idiots, Madhavan seems confused about his future. “I’ve a thriving career in Tamil and my career in Hindi cinema has just found its bearings. I can’t pretend that a 3 Idiots will happen again. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. So when I am asked during the promotional tours of Teen Patti, if it will be as big a success as 3 Idiots I feel like throwing my hands up in the air and running the other way.”

-Subhash K Jha/ Sampurn Wire