‘When People Threw Stones at Me, I Turned Them Into Flowers’
Ravi Kishan talks about how he held on during adversity and how his attitude to opposition has affected his overall life
Actor, filmmaker, politician, parliamentarian – Ravi Kishan is getting his second wind of fame and he attributes it chiefly to the blessings of Lord Shiva and the perceptiveness of Kiran Rao, who cast him in Mirzapur. “This is my destiny, my father’s blessings, the results of my deeds and those of my elders,” he said, adding, “after 34 years, I’ve started receiving Shivji’s blessings.”
When asked him for his take on his popularity with the young generation and the fact that he’s become an Internet sensation, Ravi Kishan said, “I think, somewhere down the line, they don’t have access to real faces or people who make mistakes and own them and accept them. Nobody is perfect.”
He also felt that the fact that he relied only on himself throughout has struck a chord with the youngsters of today. “No script was ever written for me. These youngsters like this about me; they see that I’m a self-made man.”
Talking about the difficulties he faced earlier, Ravi said, “Like Shivji, I kept the poison in my throat. Whatever I’ve gone through, I’ve turned into positivity in my life. I don’t have a PR machine. I just kept chanting “Shiv Shiv” and kept moving, kept taking care of myself, family, optics, and work. I never paid attention to anything else.”
Detailing his approach to work, Ravi said, “Whatever job I get, I believe that it is unique and I won’t get another chance at it. I don’t have a Godfather, whether in cinema or in Parliament. I have only myself to turn to for support and help to survive, to stay alive, to grow.”
Asked if he feared that the success he’s now enjoying will be snatched away from him suddenly, he replied in the negative. “I have gone through so much hardship, so much oppression, so much suffering, I have seen all the storms and floods. I have crawled to reach here. When a person comes up after so much hardship, what does he fear? The artiste is just a drop in the ocean of art. I promise that I’ll always have something organic and fresh to give.”
Ravi is also excited about his next project – he plays a python in Nagzilla, a film by Karan Johar and Mahavir Jain. Meanwhile, the actor-politician, who is currently in the USA, plans to take in a screening of Mirzapur along with his wife. And as he looks ahead, he hopes to get roles like the ones played by the iconic Irrfan Khan. “No one has seen that side of me,” he concluded on a wistful note.
Ravi Kishan’s internet-breaking line “Money Follows My Brother” is now getting its own anthem. What started as a viral moment from his podcast with Raj Shamani is set to drop as an official T-Series track on September 11 now! Makers gave a first glimpse of the music video today, with Bhushan Kumar turning the meme into music.