Madhavan soldiers on...despite injured knee

By Joginder Tuteja, Mumbai, Nov 22 : R. Madhavan, who plays one of the idiots in Rajkumar Hirani's '3 Idiots', is in pain thanks to a knee injury he suffered during the film's shooting. But despite being advised a few weeks' rest, the actor continued working and says he won't slow down until the movie releases.

The star has been vigorously promoting the much-awaited film that also stars Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Sharman Joshi.

"I don't care for the moment though," Madhavan said with a smile. "Along with the rest of the cast and crew, it is my responsibility to make sure that '3 Idiots' is seen and heard all over. I don't mind stretching a little extra," he said.

It has been eight months since Madhavan has been carrying on with the knee injury, which he suffered during the filming of "3 Idiots".

"I was playing badminton with some students in the campus during the shoot of the film and suffered this injury. I realised its seriousness after a few days passed by. Doctors had advised good rest even then but the shooting was on; so rest was out of the question. In fact you would even observe that in some portions of the film, I am wearing a knee bandage," Madhavan told IANS.

With a little over a month to go for the film's release, does he foresee any immediate period of relaxation?

"I don't think so," he chuckled. "We have been going through unveiling the first look of '3 Idiots' which was soon followed by the music release. There are many more promotional activities lined up. It's ok. I have to be just a little careful not to bend my knee again. I will take precautions though I can't help being active," Madhavan said.

"3 Idiots" is set for a Christmas release Dec 25.

Apart from promoting "3 Idiots", Madhavan is also busy shooting for Aanand L. Rai's "Tanu Weds Manu", which stars Kangana Ranaut opposite him.

"Aanand is my kind of director because for him what holds utmost importance is a concrete storyline. I saw that in '13B' and this is why I worked with director Vikram Kumar. I got a similar feeling when Aanand narrated 'Tanu Weds Manu'. I was simply blown over and had no hesitation doing the film," said Madhavan, who is a superstar in the south Indian film industry.

Also in the pipeline is "Teen Patti", which has now been moved to an early 2010 release. The movie also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Hollywood legend Ben Kingsley.

"With legends like Amitabh Bachchan and Sir Ben Kingsley, it can't get bigger and better. I am so eagerly looking forward to the release of the film. The coming weeks are certainly looking positive," Madhavan said.