Madhavan on a signing spree

13B, which was not just a critical success but also saw reasonably good returns at the box office over an extended period, has propelled Madhavan's career in Bollywood. He has signed numerous films and is being approached by prominent corporate house as well as quite a few independent directors. Some of the filmmakers with whom he is all set to begin working are Navdeep Singh (Manorama – Six Feet Under) and Aanand Rai (Strangers). In addition he also has bagged projects with Sahara and Shemaroo that has ensured that his kitty is full for many more months to come.

"Upar waale ki dua se there are good projects coming my way. Also, I am happy that quite a few of them should be getting on floors very soon. I begin shooting for films by Navdeep and Aanand very soon once I am through with 3 Idiots. Also, I have completed Teen Patti, so that should be another likely release of mine in 2009", says Madhavan whose Sikandar should see a June release.

Meanwhile, he is glad with the way 13B has managed to sustain itself at theatres at least in limited shows for a long period of time. He smiles, "Some out there were ever so willing to write it off on the very day of it's release but a 50 days run in theatres has reaffirmed my faith in the movie. The film's success has definitely that translated into nice projects for me."

He goes on to talk about the box office performance of the film. "Though I am not an expert in such matters and don't have a detailed view around collections, I have been told that 13B has been one of the Top-10 grossers of the year after Chandni Chowk To China, Delhi-6, Raaz – The Mystery Continues, Billu, Dev D and 8x10 Tasveer. For a small budget film like ours, which by the way is a super hit in it's Tamil version down South and still running across 45 theatres, I am more than content with it's performance."

Coming to the recent lot of films that he has signed, while Navdeep's yet untitled film is produced by Mukesh Talreja and Nikhil Advani, Aanand Rai's film is called Tanu Weds Manu.

"I am certainly on for the role of Manu though Tanu ki talaash abhi zaari hai", laughs Madhavan before signing off.