'I will die if I don’t act’

Instrumental in setting up the Bhojpuri cinema industry more than a decade ago, Ravi Kishan, a superstar in his own right, has been on a experimental path in Bollywood for a while and his penchant to accept new challenges has lead him to feature in Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Race Gurram’ (RG), which is faring extremely well at the box-office. Understandably, he is delighted. We caught up with this actor who is contesting on behalf of Congress for the Jaunpur Lok Sabha seat of UP on Thursday, in Hyderabad.

“As soon as I arrived in Hyderabad, people at the airport started addressing me as Maddela Shiva Reddy, Shiva Reddy (his character name in ‘RG’). Even the hotel staff where I stayed recognised me from the film,” he smiles. Kishan recalls the day when director Surender Reddy rang him up. “He liked my role in ‘Luck’ before asking me to come down to the city. I met him at producer Bujji’s office. He said that he has been searching for me for the past three years and that I’m a crazy actor and that I’m the only one who can do justice to Shiva Reddy. After hearing the narration, I felt the film would be a blockbuster,” he revisits, while adding, “I’ve done the stunts on my own. Bunny heard a lot about me, so he treated me with utmost care and love. I missed the crew when the film got over.”

So, how does he see his transition from Bhojpuri cinema to Bollywood to Tollywood? "It’s been great. I’ve collaborated with the likes of Shyam Benegal and Mani Ratnam. I’m growing every day. I love breaking rules, putting my body on line and giving it everything I have for a film. I’m going to do more films in Tollywood. I’m wary of the fact that I don’t want to lose the respect that I’ve attained with Shiva Reddy; hence I will be picky. However, I will sign new movies only after elections. I’m learning Telugu and the next time you’ll hear my character speak, it will be in my own words,” he confides.

The actor is not planning to bid farewell to acting even if he is elected as the people’s representative of Jaunpur. “I will die if I won’t act. Acting is my passion and I’m where I’m because of it. You have to balance both politics and acting. You have to create your own people and let them work for you. You don’t have to stay at the constituency every time. You have to meet people’s requirements and at the same time, you can carry your passion with gusto,” he insists.

Jaunpur is close to Varanasi where BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is in the poll fray. Prod him whether there is any Modi wave in his constituency, he says, “Thank God, there is no such wave. It’s a tough battle ahead for me. I’m fighting mafia and people who are out of jail. However, I have better chances as I’m the son of the soil.”