Although actor Ravi Kishan commenced his political journey with Congress, he jumped ship in 2017 and joined the BJP, and has been the ruling party’s MP from Gorakhpur Lok Sabha constituency since 2019. An ardent admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the actor-politician recently opened up about the PM’s invaluable advice to him. Ravi also maintained that most BJP leaders are following Modi as an example and trying to emulate his nature.
Infamous for not mincing his words when commenting on various topics, he stated that he piped down a bit as per PM Modi’s instructions. Maintaining that he used to get involved in a lot of controversies initially, he said during an appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast, “In fact, the Prime Minister himself asked me not to do that. He said, ‘You are a celebrity as well. So, speak only after giving it a lot of thought. The lesser you appear before the media, the better. Avoid getting embroiled in controversies as much as possible.’ He said those things in the very best words. From that day onwards, I have never made any loose talk just to create headlines.”
Pointing out that he has something he likes to call the “Ravi Kishan ras (essence)”, the actor said there have been occasions when remarks infused with it have gone viral. He added, however, that such moments usually happen unintentionally, and emphasised that he stopped trying to generate headlines deliberately after receiving that advice from Modi. “There were a lot of issues going on, including the Marathi-Bhojpuri controversy (that I could have commented on). But the best thing to do is, do your work, stay quiet and don’t beat the drum. The entire country is watching you. Also, people know everything, including the smallest details about you, such as your car, bungalow, success et al. Keep your head down and be natural,” he added.
He also mentioned that people like him have to always respect others and listen to them. “There have been times when people stopped my car, asking about the drainage in their area, and even requesting me to book train tickets for them. You have to sit there and book tickets for them. As an MP, I have to. They complain to me about water not coming from roadside taps. I fought the election, and it’s my job to look into that as well. Don’t make faces; don’t get angry,” Kishan emphasised.
Watch SCREEN’s exclusive interview with Kajol here:
Dubbing Modi as “Niswarth Sant“, he recalled an incident where he was about to touch the PM’s feet, but the latter stopped him immediately. “Even Yogiji (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath) is following Modiji’s path. In fact, all of us are. Every BJP leader is following Modiji. As a star campaigner for the party, I can say with confidence that all BJP CMs are following his lead. He is so virat (huge) and so is his work… He works for 18 hours or so every day after getting up at 4.30 in the morning… He never takes leave, even if he is ill. I have never heard that he’s sick or that he’s on a holiday. He has been working 24×7 for so many years. Yogiji is the same. They function on just 4-5 hours of sleep. They are ‘niswarth sant (selfless saints)’. We get such people only once in centuries,” he pointed out.
Kishan continued, “After I won my first election, I went to meet Modiji in his cabin to seek his blessings. Looking at me, he asked, ‘So, how’s your Mahadev?’ I went fully blank. I usually don’t fall on people’s feet. But, upon seeing him, my hands went straight for his feet to touch them. He immediately held my hands and said, ‘Bharat jhukega nahi (India will not bow down)’. That was the line for me.”
