Mumbai: Film actor-turned-politician and BJP leader Ravi Kishan Shukla celebrates his birthday July 17th.
Born in Mumbai’s Santacruz in 1969, Ravi Kishan won from the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency in the recently concluded election, receiving more than 3 lakh votes.
Like other actors, Ravi Kishan’s fame is not limited to Bhojpuri cinema, but has earned name in the Hindi film industry as well.
Ravi was conferred with the National Award for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Tere Naam’. His Bhojpuri film ‘Kab Hoai Gawanwa Hamar’, also got a National Award for Best Regional Film in 2005.
But it is also hard to assess the labour he has done to achieve this fame. In an interview, Ravi had said that he was on the brink of losing his path due to a lack of movies but stopped only after his father’s intervention.
Ravi Kishan said, “Nobody helped me during my struggling days… I remember my daughter was born. I did not have the money to bring her from hospital. Then I took my wife and daughter out of the hospital after taking money on interest. My fields were mortgage. ”
Ravi also said, “Even after working 10-12 years in films, I did not get the money. The checks were bounced continuously, producers used to give money in the morning and used to take it back in the evening. I did not run for money. ”
Ravi is the son of a priest. Sharing stories related to childhood, Ravi recalled and said that once he played the role of Sita in ‘Ramleela’, for which his father beat him with a belt. His father wanted him to do something that would decorate their Brahmin family. But his mother advised him to flee from the house. He left his house at the age of 17 for acting.
“In the year 2003, acting on the advice of my mother I did a Bhojpuri film ‘Saiyaan Hamar’ for which I was paid 75 thousand. The movie became super hit. After that, ‘Pandit Ji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi’ movie came. This film earned Rs 12 crores. After that I have never looked back,” he said.
After coming out of ‘Bigg Boss’, his life changed. Because of his Bhojpuri style and accent he was one of the last three participants of the competition.
Talking about his worst time, Ravi said, “Amid heavy rain, I reached the recording studio and did 7-8 hours of recording. When I asked for the cheque, the producer said to not ask for a cheque otherwise he would scrap my role from the film. I was surprised. I wanted money to free my mortgaged land. I came back and cried a lot in the rain. I will never forget that day.”
When Ravi came to Mumbai, he was empty handed and used to walk to work but today, Ravi has many expensive cars including BMWs and Audis. Ravi is also fond of bikes and has Harley Davidson bikes.
So far, he has done more than 116 films in Hindi, Bhojpuri, and South Indian languages and the journey is still on. Ravi Kishan is a father of three daughters and a son.
PNN/Agencies