Features - Ravi Kishan - An article

"I LOVE WOMEN"

Bigg Boss is like a bad memory that just won't go away. As much as he tries to run away from it, Bhojpuri superstar, Ravi Kishan has to face up to questions about the reality show that took reality drama to obscene levels. During the course of the show, we encountered Ravi Kishan at various intervals. Showtime attempts to encounter the man behind the superstar. The family man, whose career success ladder is moving in only one direction, upwards! Ravi Kishan philosophises on the good to come out of Bigg Boss (it wasn't all bad, you know!), his newfound television stardom, and his future projects, one among them, the Bhojpuri-dubbed Spiderman 3 (titled Maakad Manav, if you please)!

"Life sure has settled down after Bigg Boss. It's beautiful and lovely now," he starts off, a look of thorough relief on his face. "There's a lot of peace. And recognition too. Earlier, it was limited to Bihar and U.P. Now, the entire nation knows who Ravi Kishan, the human being is. Not any film character from Tere Naam or Uddhar Ki Zindagi or 1971 or the 30-40 Hindi films, which I've done. Bigg Boss has given me a new life altogether. I never thought my world would change while I was inside that house. My look, my 10-kg loss, everything changed. I decided to detoxify myself, clean my mind and think of something new ahead. I missed my wife and kids a lot. But I have a lot of passion in me, and I concentrated all of that towards making the best of it."

Whilst in the house, he was often accused of being quite arrogant and full of himself, because of his superstar status. "I'm a self-made man. Nobody has helped me in these 17-18 years," he proclaims. "I've built my own space, my own place and industry. So I respect only Lord Shiva and my parents, nobody else! I respect everybody only as human beings, but nobody can pass a comment on me or say that they've done something for Ravi. It's not being arrogant; it's just the way my attitude is. I'm a very humble man, and I don't like people throwing tantrums. That's why throughout Bigg Boss, I would say, zindagi jhandwa, phir bhi ghamandwa, which has become like the national anthem. It means that whoever you are in life — Tata, Birla, Vijay Mallya or even Ravi Kishan — you mustn't have attitude. Always walk on the ground without any attitude, be normal and be yourself."

He further recounts, "I was stuck in that house. I would cry all the time; I broke the camera once; I've even eaten up the mike in anger and frustration. But the nation wouldn't vote me out, so I decided to enjoy. I started working out, swimming, doing all the tasks in the house with full honesty. I scripted plays and dramas. I decided to be creative with my music and dance, humour, satire, romance and even passion. It became a period of introspection for Ravi Kishan, a village boy, stuck in a house with people from a concrete jungle. I have different values and culture. I was born in a temple; I'm a pujari's son. Our upbringing was different, so we thought differently. I am aggressive, that is why I've managed to create this industry (Bhojpuri).

That is why today it has a 100-crore turnover. Mr. Bachchan calls me Mahanayak. Dilip Kumar saab is making a film with me; he kissed my forehead and told me, 'Ravi, you're a brilliant actor. Tumhari performance dekh ke meri aankhon me aasoon aa gaye.' I'm a theatre actor as well. There's so much of achievement, but I was nice to everyone in that house. I would make tea for them every morning, I learnt to cook, wash my clothes and clean bathrooms also. Things I've never done before."

The accusation of being an arrogant man was promptly followed by the constant claim that Ravi Kishan is a little too fond of the opposite sex. Perhaps, more than necessary! The self-proclaimed ladies' man answers calmly, "I appreciate beauty and I see no harm in that. I love women; they're God's most beautiful gift to us. There's no denying that. And if someone denies that, he's a hypocrite and a liar. I'm a man who confesses everything on the front page if I have to. I don't lie because I don't need to hide or play games. A man, who has done everything for himself, without a Godfather, need not be worried about his reputation getting scarred."

His fellow participants, like Rakhi Sawant, were the ones to try and mar his 'unscarred' reputation. "Later, they changed their mind. They love me a lot now. Rakhi got to know me later, and she loves me as well. I have always been misunderstood. The kind of person I am, I love admiring people. I love to lock my eyes with the other person, while talking. That doesn't mean I have something bad in my mind. It's just appreciation.

Appreciation doesn't mean sex or loving the body. It's just admiring a beautiful woman with a brain. It's communication; you get peace just by looking at such a woman. Some women just look at you and make you feel comfortable. It's like God's power. And passion and romance is there in all creative people, whether they are actors, painters or even writers. That doesn't mean sex. It doesn't mean that every woman I meet, I look at her in that way. I respect women; I love and admire them. Like my wife is my backbone. She's my strength. Women are the ultimate power."

And how does his backbone react to the link-ups? "She knows that there's nothing in my mind. We have been together for so many years, we have three babies together. She knows I'm a different man from a different place, Shiva's bhakt, a man of the soil. She can see the progress I have made. If I was only romancing and flirting and being a Casanova, and thinking about sex, I would not have been here today."

Ravi handles all the accusations deftly and at the same time very eloquently states that he'd never want to be part of a show like Bigg Boss again. "Never ever! I think I learnt enough. The Bigg Boss house was like an ashram for me, like the Shaolin temple. I benefited the most. Because I was the only one who went in as a superstar. Inside, I handle to mingle with everyone; I saw the way the TV actors lead their lives and everything. Here, I have my own kingdom. I do what I want. In that house, I realized a lot of things, understood the value of friendship and family. I saw the masks people wear, how people can change for Rs.50 lakhs. It's sad but true."

One good thing would be the amazing fan following he's acquired after the show. "I have fans everywhere now. A lot of girls love me for the man I am. They send me e-mails with marriage proposals; lots of crazy stuff is happening," he says glowingly.

Since he has such a vast audience now, has he thought about giving regular soaps a try? "I can't. For one year, I am absolutely booked for all my films. And a daily requires a lot of time. I don't mind anchoring something in typical Ravi Kishan style. I did a show for Filmy in Ravi Kishan andaaz. I was the brand ambassador for my film Ganga, which premiered on the channel. I was like a movie jockey for them and I might even continue this association with Filmy ahead. I basically gave the audience the inside story, on my interaction with Mr. Bachchan, who was my co-star in the film and so on."

If there is one person, who Ravi holds in great esteem, it is Amitabh Bachchan. He extols the great virtues of the superstar, who he worships reverently. "After coming out from the hospital post his illness, instead of going to Karan Johar's or any other set, he landed on the sets of a Bhojpuri film. I call him Bhagwan and he calls me Mahanayak. In our very first scene, we had to lock eyes. I told him, 'I can't look into your eyes. They have the power of shani. They're so hypnotic.' He immediately started laughing. It was a lovely moment. I remember him changing his clothes on the set, eight times in a day, in the heat of the summer in Film City, without going into his van. He was so dedicated; he would read one scene 15-20 times. He would rehearse the same scene 15 times, though he could have taken it easy since it was his make-up man's film. But he never did that. Can you imagine his level of commitment?"

He narrates another Bachchan anecdote. "I wanted to have a smoke but didn't want to smoke in front of him. So I went ahead to a quiet place and I was smoking there. I got to know he was rehearsing for one of our scenes, without me. I came running and apologized to him. But he was not angry at all. In so many other ways too, he continually touched me. Today, I understand why he is the phenomenon that he is!"

Ravi will soon be giving Mr. Bachchan company in Bollywood. Bhojpuri is not his only domain you know! "I have a film called Cocaine. It's going to be shot in London or Canada. It was supposed to be directed by Rahul Roy, but now someone else will be directing it. Soon, the scripting will be wrapped, and I'll be free from my current assignments. Then, we'll start shooting for it. Other than that, there is G.P. Sippy's film and a couple of other offers as well.

I did a great film, 1971, with Manoj Bajpai. I want to concentrate on quality cinema like that, which gives me satisfaction. After being a Bhojpuri superstar, and after Bigg Boss, I don't want to do a stupid Hindi film. I want to do a film, where my fans will come to watch me in mobs. And once they know I'm in a film, I know they will come in mobs. The first show will be packed. But, if the film is rubbish, they'll reject me. They've rejected Shah Rukh Khan also, and Amitabh Bachchan too. What's to stop them from rejecting me if I come in a bad film!"

It's good to know he's prepared for the worst. But is he happy with the way his career is moving in Bhojpuri films? No saturation? "I have had 35 releases, with 11 silver jubilees and five golden jubilees. And there's no scope for stagnation, because I work on every film and every character. Whether it's an innocent village boy, a love-struck man, a psycho, eccentric man or even the rebel who fights against the police, the mafia and corruption. In a way, I'm passing a lot of messages to my fans, who are very innocent. I want to bring about social change through my films. I want to be remembered as a rebel hero, who has done something through his films. Like NTR and Rajnikant have done. I want to be a hero in their hearts after my death too. They shouldn't just remember me for my five bungalows and limousines. I want more."

So, as far as his career is concerned, there's no saturation! But I'm sure he's quite fed up with the constant linking of his name with ex-flame Nagma. Ravi suddenly turns very diplomatic, "Nagma is a very sweet friend, and an amazing actress. We've worked together in nine films; all our films have been great hits. But now I have a great pairing with Rambha (the southern superstar). She's rocking. She has lost weight and is looking great. Bihar has gone crazy behind her. She compliments me perfectly. She knows the regional power and so did Nagma. They know what the regional audience wants."

Coming back to the topic of Nagma and his liaison, in the middle, there were a spate of articles from Ravi, Nagma and his wife, justifying their relationship. What was that all about? He finally reveals honestly, "Nagma and I shared a beautiful friendship. She was a family friend too. And it's all over now. I don't want to rake up that old issue again. Because finally, there's peace at home. It was a beautiful past and I have some great memories of us working together. We're still colleagues, and I'm still working with her. But only on a professional level."

I can see Ravi has had enough of the Nagma-related questions. So I move to his current favourite topic, Spiderman 3. Before you jump to conclusions, let me assure you he's not in the film. But he sure has dubbed for the film in Bhojpuri. "The film has released in English, Hindi and Bhojpuri," he says proudly. "It's called Maakad Manav. They called me because they wanted my voice. I have created my own lines in the film too. That is something I do for every film. God has given me an encyclopaedia in my brain. I have so many words stored there. If something is very beautifully written, I won't make any changes. But if there's one line or even one word, which goes here and there, I just can't take it. I have to make the changes."

He sounds just like Bollywood's perfectionist, Aamir Khan. And yet, he is often called the Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan of Bhojpuri cinema. Does he really believe that? "Both the names are very big. It's a huge compliment to be compared to both. Main toh Mr. Bachchan ke barabari soch bhi nahin sakta. And Shah Rukh is a star, world-over.

I think it's the love of the people that they give me names like that. They call me krantikari. I'm the only hero whose five films are running as super-hits in one city, Mumbai. In Patna, six of my super-hit films are running simultaneously. If you go to any theatre in Mumbai, you will find my poster. This has never happened in history, not in the north or the south. It's a miracle; it's the love I have for my fans and my honesty. I work very hard; I do a lot of homework on my character. Cinema meri saasein, meri zindagi, mera sab kucch ho chuka hai. That is my decision."

I can safely conclude that while Ravi Kishan may have had to adhere to the rules of the show in Bigg Boss, in real time, there's only one boss he adheres to! And that is himself!