Boogie Woogie’s Ravi Behl on his 10-year disappearance from Bollywood, why he never married: ‘I was forced to work since I was 11’

Ravi further shared he never experienced the glamour typically associated with coming from a film family. “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 glamor 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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The 59-year-old actor who rose to fame with his 1991 film Narsimha went on to enjoy a fruitful career in Bollywood. With his good friends Jaaved Jaaferi and Naved Jafri, Ravi also explored television as a reality show producer. They backed the oldest and longest-running reality show in India, Boogie Woogie, which successfully ran for 15 years. Recently, on Farah Khan’s vlog, Ravi recalled how the team deliberately avoided spotlighting contestants’ sob stories, choosing instead to keep Boogie Woogie organic. He also reflected on whether such a format could work in today’s television landscape. “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.”

Ravi Behl’s decade-long hiatus and return to showbiz

After his Bollywood career and long stint with Boogie Woogie, Ravi Behl took a 10-year-long sabbatical. Sharing if it was an easy decision, he told us, “I took a 10-year-long sabbatical, and it was the simplest decision. I was working since the age of 11, and did several films as a kid. Then I did Narsimha, and then Boogie Woogie happened. 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.”

Ravi made his acting comeback in 2023 with The Night Manager, and now his latest outing on OTT is MX Player’s Amar Vishwas. But returning to showbiz is never easy; it comes with its share of opinions and judgements. “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.”

Talking about how the industry has changed over the years, Ravi said, “I feel nothing really has changed, but at the same time, a lot has changed. The technology part has changed, the way people refer to things, there’s a new language that’s come up. But the emotions are the same, be it films, OTT, or television.”

 

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Ravi Behl never married

In a 2018 interview with The Free Press Journal, Ravi Behl reflected on his decision to remain unmarried, saying, “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.”

Recently, while appearing on Farah Khan’s vlog, he once again opened up about being single. “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.”