He entered Sandalwood with a bang in ‘Kempegowda’. His dialogue ‘Idu Armugam Kote Kano’ made him a household name in Karnataka. His excellent acting and his voice made him so popular. Within a short period of time, he has become one of the most sought character artist in Sandalwood. Films are being sold to distributors with his name attached. Yes, we are talking about versatile actor Ravi Shankar.
The multi-talented actor who is from Andhra Pradesh is the most loved actor of Kannada. He is so popular that he gets more whistles than stars when he comes on screens. The talented actor has completed 50 films in Sandalwood. His 50th film ‘Jigarthanda’ released today to great response.

Ravi Shankar is superstar in dubbing field. He has lent voice to more than 3000 films. His popular dubbing work includes Sonu Sood’s voice in ‘Arundathi’ and voice of ‘Katappa’ in Baahubali. Another thing which makes him special is that he knows the answer to the question, “Who Killed Katappa?”, as he has already dubbed for Katappa’s portions in ‘Baahubali 2’.

He is in dubbing field since three decades. However he always wanted to act. He played some small roles in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. However he was not able to make mark. In 2011 Sudeep’s much hyped film ‘Kempegowda’ released. The film which was remake of Tamil superhit film ‘Singham’ was expected to do well. However there was some concern that the villain’s role, which was played by Prakash Rai in original will be played by newbie in Kannada version. Film critics had hoped that Prakash Rai would reprise the role in Kannada version as well. However Sudeep, who also directed the film, cast Ravi Shankar in villain’s role surprising everyone.

Upon release the film was a superhit. More than the film becoming a commercial success, Kannada film industry gained an awesome actor. Ravi Shankar became a superstar. All stars wanted to work with him. The man who was known only for his voice was now the most sought actor.

Speaking about his debut, Ravi Shankar says, “It was a great role. I dont know what Sudeep saw in me. He cast me in Armugam’s role. The film gave me everything. Whatever I am today is because of ‘Kempegowda’. I am really grateful to Sudeep for casting me.”

Ravi Shankar started acting in villain roles. He worked with almost all superstars in short period of time. However his comic timing was known to audience with ‘Victory’. The actor who was known for serious roles surprised everyone with his comic side. Showing his versatality, Ravi Shankar was a hit among family audience also. He followed up with another great comic performance in ‘Adhyaksha’. His dance in village fair in ‘Adhyaksha’ is one of the most remembered scene in the film.

Not many people know that Ravi Shankar is also a director. He has directed Malshree’s popular film ‘Durgi’. The film was a huge success. However his acting career has made him so busy now, that he has no time to direct. He is however hoping to direct soon.

Ravi Shankar has also written dialogues for many Tamil and Telugu films. His upcoming films include ‘Kotigobba 2’, ‘Hebulli ‘ and ‘Dodmane Huduga’.

“Karnataka has given me everything. I may not be a Kannadiga by birth. But I love Karnataka and Kannada. The people of Karnataka have given me everything. Not only me, my elder brother Sai Kumar also became a star here. I think our family is connected to Karnataka. People of Karnataka always encourage talents. I am the biggest proof of that,” he adds.

Speaking about his journey, he says, ” I always wanted to be an actor. It was my parent’s dream. However they could not see my success. That is the only regret which I have in my life. I would like to sum up my journey as wonderful. I had to wait a long time to become an actor. The wait for frustrating sometimes. However I think it was worth it. I want to do something great for Kannada Film Industry, which has given me everything.”

Ravi Shankar has proved that talent will always be appreciated. All we need to have is patience. Staring his career as a small time dubbing artist to becoming the one of the highest paid character artist, he has seen it all. All the best to Ravi Shankar and hope he keeps on entertaining us in more and more films.