It was around five years ago when the Kannada film industry was desperately in search of a versatile villain, and he made his entry in commanding style, screaming Idu Armuga kote kano... (the fort belongs to Armuga), who was essaying a popular villain’s role in the film Kempegowda starring Kiccha Sudeep in the lead.
Thereafter, P Ravishankar, a versatile actor, dubbing artiste, singer, writer and dancer became the regular face of Sandalwood, challenging almost every hero in the industry on the silver screen. Ravishankar, the younger brother of Saikumar, who is also a popular actor, turned 50 this week. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on his five year journey with more than 50 films to his credit since he donned the popular character Armuga.
Ravishankar comes from a family dedicated to cinema. His mother acted in Kannada films featuring Kannada thespian late Dr Rajkumar, and his father, started as a Telugu actor and then became a dubbing artiste. He initially started as a child artiste in Telugu and even as hero, but with no offers, he started dubbing too.
A truly versatile artiste, he has dubbed for over 4,000 films with 1,000 alone in Telugu, apart from writing for a lot of films with several state awards for his work. Though he worked in a couple of Kannada films prior to Kempegowda, it was Kiccha Sudeep who introduced him as a villain in a totally new avatar that completely changed his image, and Ravishankar went on to become the most sought-after villain in the industry.
“Though I hail from Andhra Pradesh, it is the Kannada language and the Kannada people who have given me life, and showered me with love and affection. I have a special bond with Kannada. Even my mother had worked in Kannada films which featured Annavaru, and several other great actors. Also, my brother Sai Kumar is known in the industry,” says Ravishankar, who tuned 50 on Monday.
The voice of Sonu Sood in the Telugu mega hit Arundhati, Ravishankar is all praise for Kiccha Sudeep, who identified his talent, and introduced him as Armuga which set him on a different course in his career. “I have attained so much in the past five years, with over 60 films. I have lived 50 years of my life in a span of five years. I am proud of what I have managed to do so in the last phase of an actor,” he adds.
He is even planning to make a Kannada film featuring himself, his elder brother Sai Kumar and his younger brother Ayyappa in the future. “I am planning to launch my son in a Kannada film, and I am sure the generous audience who have supported me so much will extend their love and support to my son too,” he adds. For his fans, he promises to essay villain roles till he can.
