From 2005 onwards, Madhavan increased his work in Hindi films and starred and wrote the Hindi dialogues for the comedy "Ramji Londonwaley" (2005), a remake of his earlier film "Nala Damayanthi". Critics described his performance as "a master stroke", though the film fared averagely at the box office due to the release of other big budget films during the period. He experienced box office success in Hindi films for the first time through his role in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Rang De Basanti" (2006). Featuring in an ensemble cast led by Aamir Khan, Madhavan essayed the guest role of flight lieutenant, whose death triggers a revolutionary movement against corruption. The film was subsequently nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2006 BAFTA Awards, while it was also chosen as India's official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film category. Madhavan then collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the fifth time in the biopic "Guru" (2007), co-starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vidya Balan. His role of Shyam Saxena was inspired from the life of real-life journalist S. Gurumurthy, who was a challenger to the business tycoon, Dhirubhai Ambani, whose life drew allusions with Bachchan's role. The film became a blockbuster and also received critical acclaim, with a reviewer citing that Madhavan acts with "extreme, believable sincerity" dubbing him as "truly a poster boy for India", whilst another claimed he performed "a weak role with élan".