/> Madahavan celebrated his birthday recently. "For the last fifteen years I've been doing exactly the same thing on every birthday. I spend the entire day with the family. I meet my parents and my wife Sarita's parents, and we go out together.

In fact to me my parents-in-law are also my parents. This year my birthday June 1 was supposed to be astrologically auspicious. So I signed some contracts. Then I went back to my family.

In fact I don't like making a hoo-ha about my family. I told my producers and fan clubs in Chennai to break away from the norm, and use the money spent buying media space to wish me happy birthday, for charitable purposes."

Life begins at 36 for Madhavan. "It begins any time you want it to," he grins from year to year. "Though it seems much longers I've been in movies for just five years. I've gone through many changes, all better.

The last one month in London has really made me feel happier and lighter. I've got a 4-pack stomach now. Plus, I had two big hits Thambi in Tamil and Rang De Basanti in Hindi. Above all, my son Vedant was born. What more can I want?"

Maddy grows pensive. "I've gone through a lot. I wouldn't take any money from my parents while I was trying to establish myself. I wouldn't call it a struggle I'd call it a journey.

I've never gone through the depression and defeat that the word struggle implies. I found immediate success with Mani Rathnam's Alai Payuthe. Before that I was doing well for myself on television."

Unfulfilled dreams? "I want Guru to be massive hit. And I want to work with Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and with Rakeysh Mehra again, if possible. But what I'm really kicked about is the variety of roles I've done so far.

I haven't been bogged down by any image. People do think of me as a lover boy.

But I've done ony two lover boy films so far ...My first Tamil film Alai Payuthe and my first Hindi film Rehana Hai Terre Dil Mein. And now I'm into a genre I haven't done before, a thriller."

Madhavan is soon going to star in a Hindi and Tamil bi-lingual. "It's in the same genre as Manoj Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. But it has no gore, blood or violence. It's a very simple straightforward supernatural thriller that will scare the crap out of it."

Madhavan may serve as the online producer of this project.

He has also signed a one-year contract with a Tamil producer. "It's a corporate company led by a gentleman called Venkatesh. I'm looking at a no-problem release for all my films. Non-corporotized producers aren't going to survive. I'll be doing three films with Venkatesh's company."