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Ravi Kissen: I am not a porn star

Ravi Kissen is outraged. In fact, he claims he's been "publicly raped". The object of his ire is a nude photograph, with Kissen covering his modesty, that is in circulation.

The Bhojpuri actor, who stars in the Hindi film Chitkabrey - The Shades of Grey, releasing this week, claims it's a fake picture. And he insists that the film is not porn.

He clarifies this and much more to Sonil Dedhia.

Recently, a nude image of yours from the film appeared in the media.

It was a fake picture. I am very angry about it. It felt like I had been publicly raped. It was a question of my self-respect. My family was hurt and my fans also felt bad about it. It was rubbish. I called up Suneet (Arora, the director) and he apologised to me. I am not naked in the movie.

Don't you think it's just a publicity stunt?

People are talking about it and I don't know how it all started. The damage has already been done. It's not about Ravi Kissen naked in the movie. It's an issue-based film where we are trying to educate the audience about why ragging is not good. I don't think I need publicity. I don't have any godfather in the industry. I am a self-made man.

The film is also being promoted as a porn film.  

I'll commit suicide if it is a porn film. I'll kill Suneet Arora if something like this happens. It is not a porn film. I am not doing any porn act in the movie. I am not a porn actor. There may be a scene, which I am not aware of, but it is an issue-based film.

'People who commit ragging should be punished'

What does 'Chitkabrey' mean?

Chitkabrey means spots or some incidents that have made a mark in your life. There are so many things in our life that leave a mark on us. It can be a good incident or a bad incident.You will see a lot of incidents like the journey of friends, their marriage, extra-marital affair and a lot of things that we can relate to in our day to day life.

What took you so long to agree to do this film?

When the director Suneet Arora narrated the script, he wanted to me go naked in a scene where I was being ragged by other boys in college. This shocked me.

The other thing was that he is a debutant director and didn't have any experience in filmmaking. I tried avoiding this film but his confidence won me over.

What is your take on ragging?

People who commit this heinous crime need to be punished. It's a very serious issue. The film shows what a victim of ragging goes through.

'I owe my life to Bhojpuri films'

Your character here is similar to what you did in Tere Naam.

You can say it's a mix of my characters in Tere Naam and Luck. Initially, you will see the shades of the character that I played in Tere Naam, who then turns into a psychotic person. He has a split personality. So I change Raavan from Ram in the movie. It was a tough role to play. I had to be a loner on the sets to get into the character who takes revenge on other characters in the film.

Would you say that Bhojpuri films gave you your identity and brought you success?

Yes, definitely. It's a different world. I love that cinema. It made me who I am today. I owe my life to Bhojpuri films. I have done 150 Bhojpuri films and been a superstar, with several of my films celebrating silver and golden jubilees. I do Bollywood films for my personal satisfaction. I started my career in Bollywood and will try and do some films here.

You have been 20 years in the industry. How do you see your journey so far?

I started my career with a Hindi film but nobody recognised me then and I was not noticed for many years. I had to pull myself up. Thanks to Bhojpuri films and Bigg Boss I got recognised. After that show, producers and directors from Hindi films started calling me and here I am again.

What next?

I am doing eight or nine Hindi films. I am a part of the Saif Ali Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer Agent Vinod, and Sunny Deol's Mohalla Assi. I am also doing a film with director Chandraprakash Dwivedi. It's an interesting phase in my career.