Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Rang De Basanti' was a blockbuster at the time of its release and R Madhavan's extended cameo was a highlight of the film. Madhavan has had a long and illustrious career spanning through multiple industries but that 'Rang De Basanti' cameo remains to be a highlight of his career as well. He played an IAF Pilot in the film and his character makes a significant impact on the plot.

Madhavan believes that he has achieved immortality through that role. He recently stated, “In Rang De Basanti I had a nine-minute role. I was supposed to do Siddharth’s role but I couldn’t because I had long hair, and I ended up doing the pilot’s role. Big revelation in my life, because even now when they speak about Rang De Basanti, my name is synonymous with that film, for a nine-minute appearance."

The actor concluded by saying, "And these gentlemen, who worked so hard for one-and-a-half years, and I only worked for eight days, I think. And I realised that immortality in terms of being recognised as a character depends on how you play that character, and how that character is written and presented.”