For many, being born into a film family suggests an easy road to stardom. For Ravi Behl, it meant stepping into responsibility early. The son of producer Sham Behl, who backed the 1984 film The Gold Medal, Ravi began working at just 11 after his father’s death. Acting, he says, was never a hobby. It was a necessity.
Began acting at 11 to support family
In an interview with SCREEN, Ravi recalled that his childhood was shaped more by survival than by glamour. “I have been working ever since I was 11, and I was not working as a hobby, but to make a living. When I was 11, my dad passed away, and those weren’t very good times. As a kid, I did a lot of films, English films too”, he said.
Despite belonging to a film family, Ravi said he did not experience the glitz often associated with the industry. “I haven’t seen the glitz and glamour of the industry. As a child, I heard the fancy things that happened; people would talk at home. When I grew up, I used to walk, travel in autos, and this is not a pity cry; it happens with everybody. I hadn’t seen the glamour side of it, but God was kind. As a kid, I was good at karate, and I got a role in a film where the main lead did karate. Then I got Narsimha because of my dancing. So you need to keep improving yourself.”
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From Narsimha to Boogie Woogie
Ravi later teamed up with Jaaved Jaaferi and Naved Jafri to produce and host Boogie Woogie, one of India’s longest-running dance reality shows. The show ran for 15 years and was known for keeping the focus on talent rather than emotional backstories. On Farah Khan’s vlog, Ravi said a similar show could work even today if it remains real and family-friendly.
“A Boogie Woogie can be made even today if you bring the three of us together. The things we talk about are so simple, it’s a family show. Today, if you bring a show where there is laughter and talent, and you talk like you are in your living room, that vibe goes through to the audience also. Anything that’s real, works”, he said.
After the show ended, Ravi chose to step away. “I took a 10-year-long sabbatical, and it was the simplest decision,” he said. Having worked nonstop since childhood, he felt burnt out in a good way and wanted a break. What began as a short pause extended to a decade.
“The show went on for 15 years. When we wound it up, I said, ‘I didn’t want to do anything.’ In life, you kind of feel a little burnt out, but in a good way. I was like, I want to chill for a while. I thought I wouldn’t do anything for six months or one year, and I ended up doing nothing for 10 years. But that helped, it took me away from it all, and once I started craving for it, I came back.”
Comeback, typecasting fears and staying single at 59
Ravi returned to acting in 2023 with The Night Manager and is now seen in MX Player’s Amar Vishwas. He admitted that typecasting is a real concern, but said actors must learn to say no to roles that limit them.
“When I was doing movies and Boogie Woogie, people bracketed me as a funny guy who dances. Today, after seeing my shows, people say they never knew this side of me. So there is always a fear of being typecast, but then it’s on you also to say no to things that will typecast you. You’ve got to learn to break it”, he added.
In his personal life, Ravi has often addressed why he never married. In a 2018 interview with The Free Press Journal, he shared that a long-term relationship did not lead to marriage due to differences. Recently, he said he does not feel he missed out. “A lot of people are surprised that I’m still unmarried. It’s not that I haven’t tried; I was seeing a girl for a long time, but unfortunately, our relationship didn’t blossom into marriage. We had our differences”, he remarked.
During a recent chat on Farah Khan’s vlog, he once again addressed his decision to remain unmarried. “I don’t think I missed out on something. I know all the rules of marriage; you don’t have to be a cricketer, but an umpire. Had I gotten married, I would have done so at 27 years; I am 59 now.”
