Even
in
a
small
cameo,
R
Madhavan
managed
to
make
a
mark
as
the
martyred
pilot,
Flt
Lt
Ajay
Rathod
in
Rakeysh
Omprakash
Mehra's
cult
film
Rang
De
Basanti
which
released
in
2006.
In
Mehra's
autobiography,
titled
The
Stranger
In
The
Mirror,
R
Madhavan
recalled
his
experience
of
working
on
this
film.
The
actor
revealed
that
the
first
shot
he
filmed
for
Rang
De
Basanti
was
the
romantic
scene
where
his
character
proposes
Soha
Ali
Khan's
and
the
duo
share
a
kiss.
This
sequence
is
a
part
of
the
song
'Tu
Bin
Bataye'
in
the
film.
As
per
a
report
in
Bollywood
Hungama,
R
Madhavan
has
shared
his
thoughts
on
his
onscreen
kiss
with
Soha
in
Mehra's
autobiography.
The
actor
confessed
that
he
imagined
Soha's
brother
and
actor
Saif
Ali
Khan
'socking'
his
face
after
he
found
out
that
he
had
to
kiss
the
Race
actor's
sister
in
Rang
De
Basanti.
Madhavan
revealed,
"The
only
thing
I
could
think
of
was
Saif
(Soha's
brother,
with
whom
I
had
worked
before
in
a
tense
movie
as
rivals)
socking
my
face.
But
I
had
to
establish
that
I
was
an
ideal
boyfriend.
This
was
probably
her
first
on-screen
kiss
as
well."
The
tense
film
mentioned
by
R
Madhavan
was
Rehnaa
Hai
Terre
Dil
Mein
in
which
he
and
Saif
played
rivals
in
love
trying
to
woo
Dia
Mirza's
character.
Interestingly,
R
Madhavan
was
not
the
first
choice
to
play
the
role
of
Flt
Lt
Ajay
Rathod.
Mehra
revealed
that
this
part
was
earlier
offered
to
Shah
Rukh
Khan
when
the
latter
was
shooting
for
Swades.
However,
the
superstar
couldn't
do
the
film
owing
to
date
issues.
On
the
other
hand,
Madhavan
was
initially
approached
for
the
role
of
Karan
Singhania,
which
was
eventually
played
by
Tamil
actor
Siddharth.
The
3
Idiots
actor
revealed
that
at
that
point,
he
was
shooting
for
Thambi
(2006)
and
had
shoulder-length
hair.
Nevertheless,
he
took
up
the
role
of
Ajay
Rathod
as
it
required
him
to
shoot
for
just
8
days.
However,
Madhavan's
shoulder-length
hair
was
still
a
hinderance
as
it
didn't
suit
his
character
of
a
pilot
in
Rang
De
Basanti.
So,
the
makers
shelled
out
Rs
70000
and
organized
a
special
wig
for
him.
Seeing
the
team's
efforts,
Madhavan
couldn't
refuse
the
role.
R
Madhavan
further
mentioned
in
Mehra's
book
that
he
was
blown
away
by
Rang
De
Basanti's
script,
especially
because
it
was
very
detailed.