Beauty of the female gaze

Ravi Kishan in Laapataa Ladies

Can you expect a novel work experience after over 30 years in the industry and 750 movies? Ravi Kishan believes you can. The Bhojpuri superstar, who also dabbles in Hindi and south movies, will soon be seen in Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies. The social comedy marks one of his few collaborations with a woman director, and he counts it among his most enriching experiences.

Kiran Rao

Shot in Madhya Pradesh, Laapataa Ladies - based on a story by Biplab Goswami - revolves around two new brides, who are swapped during their journey to their respective husbands' villages. Kishan plays a quirky cop tasked with locating one of the brides. "Kiran ji brought a fresh perspective to the set, and her direction was both insightful and collaborative. Her attention to detail and creativity added depth to the storyline," he says. The Bhojpuri superstar considers himself a director's actor. Naturally then, teaming up with a filmmaker, who had a crystal-clear vision of how she wanted to tell the story, made the process easier. "Depicting the character was not very difficult as Kiran ji knew exactly what she wanted. Also, my diverse career of over 750 movies has prepared me for all kinds of roles."

It turns out the character didn't have much screen time in the script's initial drafts. However, Rao - in her second directorial venture after Dhobi Ghat (2011) - and the creative team expanded on the role. A source reveals, "Kiran always had Ravi in mind for the role, but in the first few drafts, his character was much simpler. While writing the additional dialogues, the creative team agreed that Ravi is a powerful actor, and the initial script didn't do justice to him. So, they fleshed out his character, and when they approached Ravi, he immediately said yes."