Bhojpuri star Ravi Kissan has been working out rigorously to lose his flab for his most lean, mean and terrifying role. He starts shooting for the role of Gabbar Singh in Ekta Kapoor's film on 6 Feb. "I've lost 10 kgs in Bigg Boss' house to play Gabbar. My Bhojpuri belly is gone. Now I'm lean and sexy. People find me hot. I'm mobbed on the streets and sought out by female fans." In a season when everyone from Amitabh Bachchan to Anil Kapoor is turning villain, Ravi is all revved up to be mean. "This is a villain like never before. I play an ex-soldier who becomes an outlaw. My mood will be black and my dress code will be khaki. Jeetendraji is Thakur." And what about the Big B's looming Gabbar in Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay? "I'm aware Bachchan Saab is also playing Gabbar. But to compare me with him is wrong and sinful.
I'm not even the dust in his feet. Bachchan Saab is God. My film is Gabbar's story. We're shooting it in Bihar in the same flavour as Omkara. We'll have the same characters as the original Sholay and the same dialogues. But this Gabbar has nothing to do with Amjad Khan Saab or Bachchan Saab. Gabbar is the hero of our version of Sholay." Ravi claims he's getting calls from huge Hindi producers. "In a few days you'll hear big announcements," says the actor who claims he has legitimised Bhojpuri cinema in Bollywood.