Madhavan has maintained close links with fellow actors and has described actor Suriya as his best friend in the film industry. The actor also is close friends with actresses Shilpa Shetty and Bipasha Basu, as well as actors Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan. He is closely associated with actor Kamal Haasan, after their appearance together in "Anbe Sivam", and has revealed that he considers the actor as his inspiration. He has also collaborated multiple times with directors Mani Ratnam, Rajkumar Hirani and Aanand Rai, citing that the film makers "understand him well" and share a good "comfort level". He has also helped out actresses Reemma Sen, Sadha and Nisha Kothari by signing them on for roles in his films, when they were going through a barren spell.