At six foot three, Ravi Shankar is an imposing presence. But for a long time, he was known more as a dubbing artiste than an actor. He has lent his voice for over 4,000 films. Calm and composed, Ravi Shankar is today a well-known name in all four south Indian film industries.
Ravi’s career took off in the Kannada film industry when he was in his 40s, and today, he is one of the most sought-after actors not just for negative roles but also for supporting roles.
While his acting career is going great guns, he will soon be directing his son Adhvay Shankar in a yet-to-be-titled Kannada film. Ravi last directed a film called ‘Durgi’ in Kannada in 2003.
Early years
Ravi Shankar says his parents, especially his mother Krishna Jyothi, played an important role in shaping him.
His father Pudipeddi Jogeswara Sarma was born and raised in Vijayanagaram in Andhra Pradesh. He moved to Chennai in 1955 to build a career in the film industry. He was principled, outspoken, and not given to compromise. His career didn't take off in a big way.
His mother was an established actor in Madras (now Chennai) and had acted in ‘Krishnagarudi’, ‘Sahodari’ and ‘Makkala Rajya’ with Dr Rajkumar and Sivaji Ganesan.
Ravi’s parents had met during a stage rehearsal. “My father was a struggling actor but my mother was at the peak of her career when they fell in love and got married in 1960. She gave up her career when she was in the family way,” recollects Ravi.
Ravi is one of five children. His eldest brother Sai Kumar and youngest brother Ayyappa Sarma are actors. He has two sisters -- Kamala Narayan and Priya Karthikeyan. “I remember our home was lively. We weren’t raised in a luxurious environment. But that never dampened the warm atmosphere at home,” he says.
His mother had studied only till class eight but she was well versed in Telugu literature and wanted her children not only to complete their education but also be good artistes and excel in fine arts.
“She would send us for music and dance lessons. She got me trained me in fights and cinema dance. She made sure we all got the best with the limited resources we had,” he says.
Krishna Jyothi was a voracious reader. “My mother didn’t know English but she would insist we read a newspaper and learn the language. She would ask us to keep a dictionary and refer to it. She also made sure we were exposed to good movies. We had the privilege of watching other language movies because my father was a leading dubbing artist who lent his voice for legendary actors like Dr Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, M G R, Sivaji Ganesan,” says Ravi Shankar. His mother died at 66 and father at 81.
Acting career
Ravi did his first film when he was nine in ‘Manishi Rodduna Paddadu’ as a child artiste. At 12, he became a voiceover artiste and lent his voice for child characters in all southern languages. “After my stint as a child actor, I restarted my career as a professional artiste in 1988 and was first launched as a hero in a Telugu film called ‘Alochinchandi,’ he adds.
“The scripts coming my way weren’t good enough and that slowed down my career as an actor. This is when I began dubbing again and lent my voice to actors like Raghuvaran, Mohan Raj, Devaraj, Captain Raju, Prakash Raj, Mukesh Rishi and more. Most of them played negatives roles and my voice perfectly suited the requirement,” he says.
Ravi has also worked as a dialogue writer for about 75 Telugu films and 150 Tamil films. He has also sung for many films.
Ravi Shankar’s first Kannada film was ‘Halli Krishna, Delhi Radha’ in 1991 when he was 25 years old. He returned to acting in Kannada with ‘Dandam Dashagunam’ with Chiranjeevi Sarja in 2010.
“I’ve been here 10 years and done over 100 movies in Kannada,” he says. He remembers what his mother once told me: “When you are born nobody knows you, but when you die the whole world must know you.” He has won 10 state Nandi Awards for Best Male Dubbing Artist (in Telugu) and two Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist (in Tamil). He has also won many awards as an actor.
Ravi Shankar has watched almost all films of Dr Rajkumar because they used to release in Tamil and Telugu and his father used to dub for them. “Singing remains my passion and S P Balasubrahmanyam and Illayaraaja are my favourite musicians,” he says.
Personal life
Ravi married Suchil, a Punjabi, 28 years ago. “I first saw her when she was studying in Women’s Christian College in Madras. It may sound a little filmi, but I decided she would be my life partner the first time I saw her. Our families met and we were married in 1992,” says Ravi.