Victorious Ravi

  • IndiaGlitz, [Sunday,December 12 2004]

If one has to surmise about him in one single statement, he is the current heartthrob of Kollywood. With innocent cherubic looks being the hallmark in his debut venture, the second one has elevated him to become the tall, athletic, handsome guy every girl dreams of. Performance wise the first one though showed him lacking a tad in spontaneity, the next one proved acting inherent in his system. Jayam Ravi on cloud nine with his recent success in ‘M.Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi,’ is a different person from the village simpleton we saw in ‘Jayam.’ With the acting bug bitten in childhood itself, what else with a producer, editor father and director brother around, Ravi etched his life to become a successful actor. But though he set his eyes on acting, studies never took a backseat; he concentrated in his education and schooled out of Loyola College with a Visual-com degree. The Kishore Namit Kapur acting institute in Mumbai was where he first took his acting classes.

Being born as a son of producer, the hurdle of getting the first break was not a problem. The ‘Jayam’ project, a remake of Teja directed telugu super hit, took off after considering several stories. But Ravi wanting to prove his caliber as a good actor, worked hard to bring out the best in the character, thereby enduring physical pain for days together while filming the rope scenes. He was also willing to take risks and danced the Sabashi Sabashi number above the moving train with no protection around. But all those painful efforts were rewarded when the film became a big hit ushering a new kind of filmmaking. He was not worried about the powerful impact of the heroine’s role who is the impetus for the hero in his transformation. This goes to show the level of sincerity in filmmaking exhibited by his brother who nowhere compromised on the storyline to portray his brother’s character as a super human.

After a long wait came the next home production that again is a telugu remake, its success story still spelled in the box office inspite of the recent Diwali entrants. The film is a family entertainer; Ravi shedding all consciousness comes out as a natural actor portraying all kinds of emotions with élan. Right from reciprocating the love of a friendly modern mother in the first half to depicting the anguish of a son brought up by a single mother living in a cruel Indian society in the second, he comes out a clear winner. The mischievous rendezvous with his love interest, as also the torment of a distraught son of an estranged father, he has brought in a different perspective the sentimental representation of human emotions that tamil cinema has not seen so far. Making good strides in the stunts and endowed with delightful dance movements, thanks to the Bharathanatyam classes he attended as a boy, Jayam Ravi definitely will go places.