Apart from being an artiste par excellence, R. Madhavan is also an environmentalist at heart. Five years ago, he, along with his brother, Subayogan, embarked on an eco-friendly project after coming across a piece of exhausted and barren land in a village near Palani, Tamil Nadu.

The plan was to rejuvenate the exhausted and barren soil using modern, organic and ancient indigenous methods of agriculture. The land was gradually restored to a healthy and productive state. Even earth worms and native birdlife made a comeback.