Ravindra Kishan Shukla (born 17 July 1969), popularly known as Ravi Kishan, is an Indian actor, politician, film producer and television personality. He currently serves as Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Gorakhpur since 2019. He received a Sansad Ratna award in 2025 for his performance in parliamentary duties. As an actor, Kishan has appeared in over 200 films, predominantly in Bhojpuri and Hindi cinema, as well as in multiple Telugu and Kannada language films.
Kishan appeared in several Hindi films in 1990s in supporting roles. Although he received attention from Tere Naam (2003). He then transitioned into Bhojpuri cinema, quickly got breakthrough as a leading man and propelled him to stardom in Bhojpuri region. In later years, he starred in several Hindi and Telugu films, including Phir Hera Pheri (2006), 1971 (2007) Luck (2009), Raavan (2010), Agent Vinod (2012), Bullet Raja (2013), Race Gurram (2014), Mukkabaaz (2017) and Batla House (2019),
In 2006, he participated in Bigg Boss. Kishan won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Laapataa Ladies (2024).
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Early and personal life
Ravi Kishan was born on 17 July 1969 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. He is the youngest of five siblings. He studied up to 12th at Rizvi College Bandra West, Mumbai. His family hails from Kerakat, Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, where Kishan lived for about seven years.
Ravi Kishan married Priti Shukla on 10 December 1993, and they have four children, one son and three daughters. His daughter, Riva Kishan, made her film debut with Sab Kushal Mangal (2020). His other daughter, Ishita, who was an NCC cadet, joined the Indian Army in June 2023.
Film career
In June 2008, Kishan was awarded the Most Popular Actor award at the ETV Bhojpuri Cinema Samman 2008 function. Popular reality shows such as Bigg Boss, and more recently Ek Se Badhkar Ek – Jalwe Sitaron Ke have brought him to the front line of top Indian television actors. In 2008, he started co-hosting the celebrity dance-based reality show Bathroom Singer, Naman:Ek Sansani and Ek Se Badhkar Ek – Jalwe Sitaron Ke on Zee. Kishan also hosted the reality show Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka, on NDTV Imagine for two seasons. He worked with film directors Shyam Benegal and Mani Ratnam in 2010.
A film starring Kishan, Jala Debh Duniya Tohra Pyar Mein, produced by the American film company PUN Films, was shown in the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Festival 2010. In 2011 he had a role in the film Shraddha In The Name Of God directed by Gurubhai Thakkar.
In 2013, Kishan was one of the judges on the reality TV show Sales Ka Bazigar, telecast on ETV. The show aimed to find the best salesperson in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The top ten people who made it to the finales were to be employed by the presenter of the show Su-kam Power Systems. The winner would get a package of ten lakhs per annum, followed by the first runner-up winning a package of six lakhs per annum. This show was the first of its kind to find the best salesperson in India, and saw participation from over 10,000 people from regions across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Kishan made his Telugu cinema debut with the 2014 Telugu film Race Gurram. In 2017 he made his Kannada debut in Hebbuli and Tamil debut with Monisha En Monalisa in 1999. In 2018, he had a role in the film MLA.
Dubbing
In 2008, Kishan dubbed Tobey Maguire's role as Spider-Man in Spider-Man 3 into Bhojpuri. This is the first Hollywood blockbuster film to include a Bhojpuri voice dub, along with Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu dubs.
Political career
Kishan joined Indian National Congress (INC) from Jaunpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, and contested in the 2014 general elections where he secured only 42,759 votes or 4.25 per cent of the total votes and finished 6th. In February 2017, Kishan left the Congress Party and joined the BJP.
Ravi Kishan was named for Gorakhpur during 2019 General election by Bharatiya Janata Party . He contested the 2019 general elections against Samajwadi party candidate Rambhual Nishad in Gorakhpur constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Kishan, won against Rambhual Nishad by a lead of over 3,01,664 votes. Ravi Kishan polled 7,17,122 votes, while Rambhual Nishad polled 4,15,458 votes.
Ravi Kishan contested the 2024 general election and defeated his nearest rival Samajwadi party candidate Kajal Nishad by a margin of 1,03,526 votes.
Controversies
In April 2024, a woman Aparna Thakur from Mumbai made a claim that she was married to Ravi Kishan during his struggle days, who had fathered her daughter, Shenova. The daughter Shenova also filed a civil suit in Mumbai requesting a DNA test and legal recognition. In response, Ravi Kishan's legal team and his wife, Preeti, filed an FIR against the mother and the daughter, making allegations of extortion as part of an underworld operation to ruin Kishan's reputation.
Kishan got involved in an alleged cheating case, where he allegedly was cheated by a Mumbai-based real estate builder Jitendra Ramesh Jain. As per Kishan, he had given an amount of Rs 3.25 crore to Ramesh as loan in 2012. When he asked for refund, the 12 cheques handed over as repayment bounced in 2021. In September 2022, Kishan filed the FIR in Cantt Police station in Gorakhpur.
He filed another FIR in May 2026 at Cantt Police station in Gorakhpur against individuals trying to tarnish his reputation. He has alleged "a coordinated defamatory campaign" aimed at damaging his public and political image. He has sought strict legal action against the miscreants, while asking for appropriate measures to stop these “malicious attempts”.
