R Madhavan is celebrated not only for his work as an actor and filmmaker, but also for being the proud father of the accomplished swimmer Vedaant Madhavan, who has gained recognition for multiple international victories. Over the years, Madhavan has often spoken about his son’s rigorous training journey and the sacrifices his family made to support his ambitions.In an interview with The Hindu in 2025, Madhavan reflected on the major decision he and his wife, Sarita Birje, made during the Covid-19 lockdown by relocating to Dubai so that Vedant’s swimming career would not suffer. “It was an essential decision taken at the right time. Vedaant was growing into a teenager, and not having a pool to swim in would have ended his international swimming career,” he said.At the time, swimming pools in Mumbai and the rest of India were closed due to pandemic restrictions. Madhavan explained that while India was under lockdown, several other nations had already reopened their training facilities for athletes.“Countries like Germany, France and China opened and closed swimming pools, making them Covid-free zones. Students were being asked to stay there for months and train. Some of them broke world records during this period. It was something Vedaant could not miss,” he pointed out.The actor added that once Dubai reopened swimming schools with strict safety protocols, the family decided to go there. Sarita and Vedaant are said to have changed first, and Madhavan joined them later.Describing it as a turning point, he stated that the move was beneficial for his son’s progress. “It was a good decision” because Vedaant “did brilliantly afterwards”, Madhavan said, adding that the Indian swimming team was also training in Dubai during that period.Speaking candidly about fatherhood, Madhavan admitted that he does not consider himself a perfect parent and rated himself modestly.“There are things I would like to do as a father that I can’t because of my profession. My wife is a much more hands-on parent than I am. I do the philosophy and guidance part…telling Vedaant what to do. However, at the same time, we are also very nervous, because he has received disproportionate recognition for his achievements so far, and that too at such a young age,” he said.The actress also added that her biggest concern is making sure her son stays grounded despite his early fame and success.“I’m not worried about whether he’ll make it big or not. I’m more worried about whether he has the ability to understand that this recognition will soon disappear, and that should be taken as a phase of the past, and win all the other recognitions he has in mind to make a name for himself,” he added.Vedaant has steadily built an impressive sports resume over the past few years. Apart from bagging four gold and three silver medals in the 48th Junior National Aquatics Championships, he also brought home five gold medals for India at the Malaysian Open last year.
