If you have seen the recently-released Telugu film Uma Maheshwara Ugra Roopasya, you would have noticed Ravindra Vijay. The actor plays Jognath in the film, directed by Venkatesh Maha. Though it was a small role, Jognath was the catalyst for the revenge drama.
Says Ravindra, “The credit goes to Maha, who worked so hard on the film. It had a very unique flavour.” Born and raised in Bengaluru, Ravindra is a polyglot and is fluent in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu besides English.
Though he has acted in over 10 films, he says acting was never on his mind when he grew up. He is, in fact, a doctor who graduated from Bangalore Medical College. “I had no exposure to arts at all. What started off as a hobby in the second year of medical school, became an obsession.”
Soon, Ravindra would find himself replacing his stethoscope with scripts. He credits the theatre group, Rafiki, for instilling this passion in him. “I started working with them on street plays in 2005.”
Since then, he was drawn more towards theatre and has been part of many theatre groups in Bengaluru. By 2011, he was a full-time theatre actor.
When he shifted base to Chennai, working with the group Perch, he got an opportunity in the form of Odu Raja Odu, in which he played Nasser’s brother.
He was also seen in movies like Kadaram Kondan and Dharala Prabhu. Work kept Ravindra busy, for, he was hopping from one film set to another. “Taking that decision was tough; the idea was to ease myself into theatre. My family was shocked and wondered how I could give up Medicine to be an actor.”
It has not been an easy journey. He has worked on oil rigs and ships to keep himself afloat. “I was meant to work just for a few months, but ended up working for a year. Maybe because there is nothing more addictive than a pay packet,” the actor says with a laugh.
He, however, has not yet opened his account in Kannada, but “would love to explore this industry too”. He also says that he will be seen in Season Two of the web series Family Man and Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kadhai in Tamil.
Talking of about the current situation, he says, “Right now nothing is happening in cinema. Shooting for television is on in a very contained manner.”
Ravindra also adds that he joined the forces to help around in some kind of relief work during the lockdown. The actor says unlike swimming and cycling which once learnt can never be forgotten, medicine requires constant updation. “This is an ever evolving field and a fast advancing one, you have to be constantly in touch with the new developments and treatments.”