Sudeep-Ravishankar combination has managed to create a big hype in Sandalwood. It all started with 2011 blockbuster movie Kempegowda. Now, the duo is back with their 8th project Hebbuli.
The actor admitted that he blindly accepts any project Sudeep offers him. “I believe that if he (Sudeep) wants me in his films, then there is a strong reason behind it,” he asserts.
Ravi Shankar says he owes 50 per cent of his success to Sudeep. “My career in Sandalwood started with Sudeep. For every actor, I believe, there comes a break through, which I got after 25 years. I started as a hero way back in 1986 in a Telugu movie and I am 50 today. My first turning point in my life was when I dubbed for Telugu film,
Arundathi in 2008. The next break was with the Arumuga character in Kempegowda. I owe it to Sudeep and I want to continue this journey with him, as long as I can,” he says.
Hebbuli has more than one antagonist and Ravi Shankar shares screen space with actors like Ravi Kishan, Kabir Dulhan Singh, Avinash among six others.
When asked if being part of a film, which has an ensemble villains adds value to his role, he said, “I play one of the villains. But, at the end of the day, it is a character. A film like Hebbuli demanded ensemble of villains as the hero faces a larger problem because he comes from an army background. Whenever we are placed among those multiple villains, we try to score the maximum with our performance.”
Ravi Shankar still believes that ultimately audience want to watch hero and villain fighting with each other. “That is a kind of feeling you get every time you see Rama killing Ravana. Good winning over evil is a culture followed in our Indian society and it is still relevant today on and off screen,” he signs off.