I want to do a role like Kamal Haasan’s in Dasavathaaram

Ravi Kishan, the superstar of Bhojpuri Cinema, attended the Indywood Film Carnival as an ambassador of Bhojpuri Film Industry. “I have come here to popularise Bhojpuri cinema and talk about how we are going to grow. Until a few years ago, just one odd film was being made every decade in Bhojpuri, from the time it started in the 60s. Technically, I have restarted this industry again in the third phase and since then it has been churning out around 80 films, a year. I did 350 Bhojpuri films till now. Earlier, I used to act in 18 or 17 films per year, however, now I do only four films per year,” he shared.

“It has potential to be a huge industry with 34 crore people speaking the language in Bihar, UP and all over India. But, Bhojpuri cinema does not get any government support unlike other film industries. It is high time that Bihar and UP governments support for its speedy growth,” he added. After a small role in ‘Tera Naam,’ Ravi Kishan went on to make a Bhojpuri film and created history. He speaks about his journey, “It started in 2001 when the industry was dead. The director of the film ‘Saiyyan Hamar’ – Mohan Prasad was not finding any actor for the lead role as he had no budget. He had just 75 thousand rupees for the hero.

I called my mother in the village and told her about this offer. I also told her that my career could get over if I do a Bhojpuri film, because, nobody will give me work in Hindi. Then my mother said - Just do it for our villagers; if nobody sees, it’s no problem. At least your village will see the film. And I took a shot, and that film became a blockbuster hit. It celebrated silver jubilee, golden jubilee and my life changed. I never knew this would happen. I was struggling to survive with no money and no house and Mumbai is so expensive. And this film changed my journey.”

The actor has done many films in Telugu industry and is best known for his role of Maddali Shiva Reddy in Allu Arjun-starrer ‘Race Gurram’. “I have done many films in Telugu but people still call me Maddali Shiva Reddy,” he shared, “I have done six films till now and I will do many more films in future. But, I do only select films. I have not come to Tollywood to earn money. I am a superstar in Bhojpuri Film Industry and I only do lead roles there. I came here to explore my acting skills. A few roles in Telugu movies are now written keeping me in the mind. I love coming here and performing.”

The actor said that he is learning Telugu language so that he could do his dubbing. “I bought a few Telugu books and am reading them to hone my language. I understand a bit of Telugu now. I will be dubbing for my next film. The role requires my voice and I have been asked to dub, and so, I am doing it.” Talking about his friends in Tollywood he shared: “Bunny (Allu Arjun) is a superb actor. He is the best friend I got in Tollywood. He is very passionate and hard working. Sharwanand is also very involved, and I am working in his 25th film. He is coming up slowly and he will surely make a mark.”

Speaking about his dream role the actor shared, “I want to play a role like Kamal Haasan’s in the film ‘Dasavathaaram’, wherein he has done several characters. I want to be a hero, priest, psycho, woman, villain, etc, all in the same movie. I am looking out for a good script, which helps me realise my dream. I will sit down with a scriptwriter sooner or later and do it for sure.”