more on ravi n ekta's sholay

The star of Bhojpuri films Ravi Kishen says he has come out of Sony TV's reality show "Bigg Boss" looking lean and sexy. He has acquired this new look to play Gabbar Singh in soap queen Ekta Kapoor's version of "Sholay".

"I've lost 10 kg in the 'Bigg Boss' house to play Gabbar. My Bhojpuri belly is gone. Now I'm lean and sexy. People find me hot. This is a villain like never before," Ravi told IANS.

In the film Ravi plays an ex-soldier who becomes an outlaw.

"Jeetendra-ji is Thakur. I'm aware Amitabh Bachchan is also playing Gabbar. But to compare me with him is wrong. Bachchan saab is god. My film is Gabbar's story," Ravi told IANS.

"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 says he is suffering from a three-month jetlag and has eyes only for his wife.

"I don't want to lose sight of her even for a second. Inside that 'Bigg Boss', it was like living in a five-star prison. You couldn't go out and escape. If you did, you had to pay a huge penalty. We had signed a 12-page contract."

After "Bigg Boss" Ravi's popularity has gone up. He says he's being mobbed in the malls.

"God has turned me into a role model. My wife has also become a star. She can't get a good deal in the shops. They think she can afford to pay up any price.Ravi says the "Bigg Boss" experience has changed him completely"

I may have come across as aggressive but I was just being true to myself. Today, I'm a changed man. I'm great at domestic chores. I'm terrific at washing utensils and clothes. I can make a parallel career of domestic work.

"I'm dying to make pao-bhaji and gajar ka halwa for my wife. But she isn't allowing me to do anything that I've learnt in there except give her toe massage.

"Many times she saw me cry on TV for her. When she saw me that way, she fainted. Now, we're unable to leave each other for even a second. I worship her, and she worships me back."

Ravi says his life in there was sex-less.

"We all lived like monks in there. We all came out better persons. It was like being put in a Shaolin Temple. While they brought in their perceptions from the concrete jungle, I was the only rustic in there. I fought against dirty thoughts and articulations."

Ravi says there wasn't any privacy in the house.

"There was no time to be alone except in one corner where I sat smoking and talking to the sky. We didn't have a watch in there."

He describes his relationship with his housemate Carol Gracias as "pure friendship".

"I taught her how to speak Hindi. I used the platform to propagate Bhojpuri. I was the only known name in there. I lost because people in Bihar voted me out of there thinking they were voting me to stay."

Ravi claims he's getting calls from big time Hindi producers.

"I've gained a lot from 'Bigg Boss'... knowledge, love, wife, family, friends. I won't forget these experiences till the day I die."

Ravi plans to invite all "Bigg Boss" inmates for dinner.

"It'll be an experience of a lifetime. I want some of them to be my friends for the rest of my life."

Ravi hasn't connected with favourite co-star and close friend Nagma after coming out.

"But I hear she had things to say while I was away. For her information it wasn't me, it was Aryan Vaid who was bitching about her in 'Bigg Boss'. But, I wish her all the best."