Menu

Ravi Kishan Age, Caste, Wife, Family, Biography

Quick Info→
Education: B.Com
Wife: Preeti Kishan
Age: 55 Years

Ravi Kishan

Bio/Wiki
Full nameRavi Kishan Shukla [1]Lok Sabha
NicknameBabbu
Other nameRavindra Shyamnarayan Shukla [2]MyNeta
Profession(s)Politician, Actor, Entrepreneur
Famous for• Appearing as Chhote Gangster in Phir Hera Pheri (2006)
• Appearing as Ram Kumar in Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)5' 9" (175 cm)
Weight (approx.)65 Kg (143 lbs)
Eye ColourDark Brown
Hair ColourBlack
Film
Debut (as an actor)Bollywood: Pitambar (1992)
A poster of Pitambar
Kollywood: Monisha En Monalisa (1999) as Ravi
A poster of Monisha En Monalisa
Tollywood: Race Gurram (2014) as Maddali Shiva Reddy
A poster of Race Gurram
Sandalwood: Hebbuli (2017) as Amrut Shah
A poster of Hebbuli
Politics
Political Party• Indian National Congress (2014-2017)
Indian National Congress Flag
• Bharatiya Janata Party (2017-present)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) flag
Political Journey• Became a member of the INC (2014)
• Contested and lost the Lok Sabha elections from the Jaunpur constituency (2014)
• Left INC and joined the BJP (2017)
• Contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from the Gorakhpur constituency (2019)
• Member of the Standing Committee on External Affairs (13 September 2019 - 12 September 2020)
• Member of the Standing Committee on Industry and Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (13 September 2019)
• Permanent Special Invitee, Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (13 September 2019)
• Won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Gorakhpur constituency by a margin of 103526 votes.
Awards, Honours, Achievements • Most Popular Actor Award at ETV Bhojpuri Cinema Samman (2008)
• TSR TV9 National Film Award in the Best Actor – Bhojpuri category (2017)
Ravi Kishan's TSR TV9 National Film Award
• Best Actor Award at the Jharkhand International Film Festival for the film Kaashi Amarnath (2018)
• Personality of India title (2018)
Ravi Kishan receiving the Personality of India title
• Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman from the Uttar Pradesh government (2021)
Ravi receiving the Uttar Pradesh Gaurav Samman
Personal Life
Date of Birth17 July 1969 (Thursday)
Age (as of 2024)55 Years
BirthplaceSantacruz, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Zodiac signCancer
SignatureSignature of Ravi Kishan
NationalityIndian
HometownJaunpur, Uttar Pradesh
SchoolRizvi College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai
College/UniversityRizvi College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai
Educational QualificationSource 1: 12th pass [3]MyNeta
Source 2: B.Com [4]Lok Sabha
ReligionHinduism [5]The Times of India
AddressBungalow No. 122, Mhada, SVP Nagar, four Bungalows, Andheri, Mumbai-400053, Maharashtra
HobbiesTravelling, Watching films, Reading about art, literature, and the spiritual personalities of India
ControversiesVariation in the electoral affidavits
Ravi Kishan attracted controversy in 2019 when a Kushinagar-based youth activist named Santosh Kumar pin-pointed the disparity found in Ravi's educational qualification mentioned by him in his electoral affidavit in 2019 and 2014 and filed a complaint against him to the returning officer. According to Santosh, Ravi was a commerce graduate (B.Com) according to his 2014 affidavit; however, in his 2019 affidavit, Ravi had mentioned that he was 12th pass. In an interview, Santosh Kumar said,

"If Ravi Kishan was a commerce graduate in 2014, how did his educational qualifications come down to intermediate in 2019."

Thereafter, the then Rashtriya Mazdoor Congress' general secretary Santosh Mani Tripathi pointed out that Ravi had not written his name in the affidavit clearly and had not signed the affidavit. [6]India.com

Civil suit by actress Shinnova
In April 2024, actress Shinnova Soni filed a civil suit against Ravi Kishan in the Dindoshi court in Malad, claiming herself to be the biological daughter of Ravi Kishan. In the civil suit, the actress revealed that her journalist mother, Aparna Soni, was once romantically involved with the actor, and both had even got secretly married in 1991, and Shinnova was born on 19 October 1998. She further mentioned that her mother and Ravi Kishan later mutually got separated on the condition that Shinnova would refer to him as 'uncle.' According to Shinnova, she decided to file a civil suit against the actor after he declined to meet her and her mother when they visited the actor to greet him for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. [7]The Times of India
Relationships & More
Marital StatusMarried
Affairs/Girlfriends• According to Ravi Kishan, he was dating Nagma, an actor-turned-politician, and asserted that his wife, Preeti Shukla, was acutely aware of his extra-marital affair and was fine with it. [8]ABP However, in April 2023, when Rajat Sharma asked him questions about his relationship with Nagma, Ravi rejected the claims and said,

"When actors work with the same actress on multiple projects, people assume something is brewing. However, this was not the case. We used to do films together and our films used to be blockbusters. We were friends and had a cordial relationship. Moreover, everyone knew that I was married." [9]India TV
Ravi Kishan with Nagma
• Aparna Soni (journalist) (in the 1990s) [10]The Times of India
Marriage Date10 December 1993
Family
Wife/SpousePriti Kishan Shukla (also spelt as Preeti Kishan Shukla) (entrepreneur)
Ravi Kishan with his wife
Note: In 1996, he reportedly got married to a journalist named Aparna Soni. [11]The Times of India
Ravi Kishan is seen with Aparna Soni and Shinova Soni in this family album
ChildrenSon- 1
• Saksham Kishan
Daughter(s)- 4
Ishita Shukla (joined the defence forces under the Agnipath scheme in June 2023)
Ishita (right most) with her brother and parents
• Tanishqa Shukla (business manager, investor)
Ishita (left) with her elder sister, Tanishqa
Riva Shukla (actress)
Riva Kishan, Ravi Kishan's daughter
Shinnova Soni (actress) (born with Aparna Soni in 1998) [12]The Times of India
Ravi Kishan with Shinnova Soni
ParentsFather- Shyam Narayan Shukla (deceased; priest, dairy owner)
Ravi Kishan with his father
Mother- Jadavati Devi (homemaker)
A picture of Ravi Kishan with his mother
SiblingsBrother(s)- 2
• Ram Kishan Shukla (died in February 2023 due to a heart attack)
A photo of Ram Kishan Shukla
• Ramesh Kishan Kishan Shukla (died in March 2022)
A picture of Ramesh Shukla
Sister(s)- 2

Note: Ravi is the youngest among his siblings.
Favourites
FoodDal-roti
ActorAmitabh Bachchan, Balraj Sahni, Dilip Kumar, Pran, Motilal, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor
FilmDo Bigha Zamin (1953), Guide (1965)
TV ShowsIndian:
American:
Style Quotient
Car Collection• Toyota Innova
• Mercedez Benz
• BMW X5
• Jaguar F-PACE
• Toyota Crysta
• Jaguar XF
Bike Collection• Harley Davidson
Ravi riding his Harley Davidson
• Royal Enfield Classic 350
• Kawasaki Ninja
Money Factor
Salary (as an MP)Rs. 2 lacs + other allowances [13]Zee News
Income (per film)Rs. 50 lacs [14]Mirchi Plus
Assets/PropertiesMovable Assets (Rs. 14.96 crore)
• Cash: Rs. 2,00,000
• Bank Deposits: Rs. 82,81,931
• Bonds, Debentures, and Shares in companies: Rs. 19,79,999
• LIC or other insurance Policies: Rs. 6,76,751
• Loans and advances given: Rs. 47,71,000
• Motor Vehicles: Rs. 86,00,000
• Jewellery: Rs. 9,38,100
• Other Assets: Rs. 16,50,000

Immovable Assets (Rs. 20.70 crore)
• Commercial Buildings: Rs. 5,88,88,000
• Residential Buildings: Rs. 6,95,49,000

Note: He has 11 residential properties in various cities including Mumbai and Gorakhpur. He also owns a rifle and a revolver.
Net Worth (approx.)Rs. 38.21 crore (as of 2024)

Ravi Kishan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ravi Kishan

  • Ravi was born and brought up in a chawl in Santacruz, Mumbai, but as a result of a dispute in his family’s dairy business, which led to the dairy business getting closed, his family shifted to Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh when he was 10 years old. Ravi stayed with his family in Jaunpur till he was seventeen years old and helped his family with farming on their ancestral land. While giving an interview, Ravi talked about it and said,

    I stayed in Jaunpur for seven years and was simply not interested in studying. We just had some land on which we would do farming and were very poor. We lived in a mud house and could not even afford a sari for my mother on Diwali. I hated the thought of not being in Mumbai and felt I would either die or turn mad or become a goonda.”

  • To help his family financially, Ravi used to work as a newspaper seller as a child in Jaunpur.
  • Ravi met his wife Preeti when he was studying in class 11.
  • While growing up in Jaunpur, he would play the role of Sita in the Ramleela; however, his father didn’t like this, and he didn’t want him to pursue a career in acting.
  • In an interview, Ravi talked about his troubled relationship with his father and said that his father even wanted to kill him, and when he turned 17, his mother gave him Rs. 500 and asked him to run away from home to pursue his dream of becoming an actor in Mumbai. Ravi said,

    My father was beating me very badly and he was hammering me. He wanted to kill me and my mother was aware that her husband is capable of killing me and he will not hesitate because priests have less emotions. So she said ‘bhaag jao.’” [15]The Times of India

  • His debut film ‘Pitambar’ was a B-grade for which he was paid Rs. 5000. While giving an interview, Ravi said,

    I ran away from home to come to Mumbai. I then stayed in our old 10×12 sq ft place and met an old friend Hriday Shetty, who introduced me to a filmmaker. I got my first B-grade film Pitambar and made my first 5000. I bought a bike and started struggling”

  • In an interview, Ravi talked about the reasons for running away from home and said,

    My father wanted me to do milk business and used to bash me up badly with a belt saying, Yeh tum nachaniya kya ban rahe ho?”

  • Ravi, in 1994, acted in several films including Zakhmi Dil, Aag Aur Chingari, and Udhaar Ki Zindagi.
  • In the 1997 mythological TV serial Jai Hanuman, he portrayed the role of Shri Krishna.
  • Ravi Kishan was offered a role in a Bhojpuri film when he was striving to gain prominence in Bollywood. While giving an interview, he talked about it and said,

    There was a time when I was not making money in Bollywood and I was then offered a Bhojpuri film. I called my mom. We speak Awadhi at home that is close to Bhojpuri. She said, ‘Do it for your village people.’ I did it and became a Bhojpuri superstar and that changed my life.”

  • In 2000, he was seen in the Hindi mythological TV show Vishnu Puran in which he played the role of Sudhanva.
  • He was recognised after ‘Tere Naam’ (2003), where he played the role of a priest called ‘Rameshwar.’ Coincidently his father worked as a priest, hence, he took inspiration for his character in the film from his father. In the film, he shared the screen with Salman Khan.

    Ravi Kishan with Salman Khan in a still from Tere Naam

    Ravi Kishan with Salman Khan in a still from Tere Naam

  • In the same year, Ravi Kishan was offered a role in the Bhojpuri film Saiyaan Hamar.
  • In the first and the second episode of the Hindi TV serial Khauff, aired on Sony SAB, Ravi Kishan played the role of a character named Raghuveer.
  • In the 2004 Bhojpuri film Pandit Ji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi, Ravi landed a role.
  • In the same year, Ravi appeared as Shankar in the Bhojpuri film Kab Hoi Milanwa Hamar.
  • He landed the role of Raghu Shetty in the 2004 Hindi film Aan: Men at Work.
  • In Phir Hera Pheri, a 2006 Hindi comedy film, Ravi appeared as Gangster Chhote.

    Phir Hera Pheri Aye Kya Khusur Phusur Kya GIF - Phir Hera Pheri Aye Kya Khusur Phusur Kya Ravi Kishan Totla GIFs

    Ravi Kishan as Chhote in Phir Hera Pheri

  • He stood as a second runner-up in Bigg Boss 1 in 2006. In an interview, Ravi talked about participating in the show and said that he did not want to join the show but was advised otherwise by his wife.
  • In the 2007 Hindi war film 1971, Ravi Kishan played the role of an army officer named Captain Jacob.
  • In the same year, he dubbed the Bhojpuri version of Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s voice for the film Spider-Man.
  • He hosted seasons one and two of Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka, a reality TV show aired on Imagine TV.
  • In the same year, he appeared in Bhojpuri films Ab Ta Banja Sajanwa Hamaar and Ganga.
  • He landed a role in Banke Biharee M.L.A. in 2007.
  • He appeared as Ram Kumar in the 2008 Hindi comedy film Welcome to Sajjanpur.
  • In 2009, he landed the role of Raghav Raghuvaran in the Bollywood film Luck.
  • In the same year, he shared the screen with Jackie Shroff in the Bhojpuri film Balidaan.

    Ravi Kishan on the poster of the film Balidan

    Ravi Kishan on the poster of the film Balidan

  • He appeared alongside R. Madhavan and Kangana Ranaut in the 2011 Hindi film Tanu Weds Manu.
  • He landed a role in Hamaar Devdas, a Bhojpuri remake of the Hindi film Devdas, in the same year.
  • He appeared as a host in Ke Bani Crorepati, a 2011 Bhojpuri reality TV show based on the Hindi quizzing show Kaun Banega Crorepati.

    A photo of Ravi Kishan with Hema Malini on the sets of Ke Bani Crorepati

    A photo of Ravi Kishan with Hema Malini on the sets of Ke Bani Crorepati

  • He is known for his famous dialogue “Zindagi Jhandwa…Phir Bhi Ghamandwa.”
  • In 2012, he appeared as Rajan in the Bollywood film Agent Vinod.
  • He repeated Aamir Khan’s train stunt from the film Ghulam in the 2012 Hindi film Jeena Hai to Thok Daal.
  • In the same year, he appeared in two Bhojpuri films, Kaisan Piyawa Ke Charitar Ba, and Prem Vidrohi.

    Ravi Kishan in a still from the film Kaisan Charitar Ba

    Ravi Kishan in a still from the film Kaisan Charitar Ba

  • In 2012, he participated in ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5.’

  • He acted in several Bollywood films like Bajatey Raho as Mohanlal Sabharwal, Issaq as Teeta Singh (Tybalt), and Mere Dad Ki Maruti as Pathan in 2013.
  • In 2014, he contested from Jaunpur (Lok Sabha constituency) for Congress party but lost to Krishna Pratap Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
  • He bagged a role in the 2014 Bhojpuri film Lakhon Mein Ek Hamar Bhauji.
  • In the same year, he played for the cricket team Rowdy Bangalore in the first season of the Box Cricket League (BCL).

    Ravi Kishan during the Box Cricket League

    Ravi Kishan during the Box Cricket League

  • He is a devotee of Lord Shiva.
  • In 2014, he appeared in the Telugu film Aagadu as Siva Reddy.
  • Despite securing 42,759 votes, Ravi Kishan lost the 2014 general elections.
  • He appeared in two Telugu films, Kick 2 as Solomon Singh Thakur, and Bruce Lee: The Fighter as Jayaraj’s brother in 2015.
  • Ravi lodged a missing complaint in Mumbai in 2015 after one of his daughters left the house without informing Ravi and his wife. [16]The Economic Times
  • In 2016, he essayed the role of Raja in Hum Hai Jodi No.1, a Bhojpuri version of the Telugu film Brindavanam.
  • He appeared in the 2017 film Mukkabaaz as Sanjay Kumar.
  • In the same year, he appeared as Veersingh/Raghuveer in Hameer, a Gujarati film.
  • In an interview, Ravi said that he left INC and became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2017 after he felt neglected by the INC’s leadership following his defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Talking about it, he said,

    It was a mistake. When I lost the election, no one in the party high command got in touch with me. I was dejected.”

    Ravi Kishan with Manoj Tiwari after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

    Ravi Kishan with Manoj Tiwari after joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

  • He landed the role of Amarnath in the 2017 Bhojpuri film Kaashi Amarnath.

    Ravi Kishan on the poster of the Kaashi Amarnath

    Ravi Kishan on the poster of the Kaashi Amarnath

  • In the same year, he landed the role of MLA Sujatha in the Telugu film Radha.
  • In 2018, he appeared as Veeraswamy in the Telugu film Saakshyam.
  • In the same year, he appeared as Chandrabhan Singh in Rangbaaz, a ZEE5 web series.

    Ravi Kishan’s GIF from Rangbaaz

  • Ravi established a production company named Ravikishan Productions And Media Private Limited on 26 September 2018.
  • In the 2019 Bollywood film Batla House, he appeared as a cop named Krishan Kumar “K.K.” Verma.

    A photo of Ravi Kishan with John Abraham on the sets of Batla House

    A photo of Ravi Kishan with John Abraham on the sets of Batla House

  • In the same year, he bagged the role of Sanjay in the Tamil film Sangathamizhan.
  • Ravi Kishan Shukla secured a total of 7,17,122 votes in the 2019 general elections and registered a victory over Rambhual Nishad, his closest opponent from the Samajwadi Party (SP), by a margin of 3,01,664 votes. While giving an interview, Ravi revealed that he contested the elections from Gorakhpur on CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Narendra Modi’s requests.

    Ravi Kishan's photo taken when he was campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections

    Ravi Kishan’s photo taken when he was campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections

  • He bagged the role of a character named Ravikant Nagaich in the 2019 Telugu film NTR: Kathanayakudu.
  • He appeared as a host in a 2020 Hindi TV crime show titled Crime Stop.
  • In the same year, he appeared in the Kannada film Drona in which he played the role of two characters named Uday Krishna and Shivarjuna as Ramappa.
  • Ravi Kishan signed an acting contract in 2021 for the Hindi films Boondi Raita and Dehati Disco.
  • In the same year, he appeared in a Telugu film titled Hero in which he essayed the role of a character named Saleem Bhai.
  • In 2021, he appeared as MLA Tripathi in the Kannada film Roberrt.
  • Ravi Kishan essayed the role of a police officer in the 2021 MX Player web series Matsya Kaand.
  • He appeared as Jairaj Jatav in the web series The Whistleblower, which premiered on SonyLIV in the same year.
  • Ravi Kishan acted in Love You Loktantra, a 2022 Bollywood film.
  • In the same year, he appeared in Mera Bharat Mahan, a Bhojpuri film, as Selfie Singh.
  • In the 2022 web series Khakee: The Bihar Chapter, Ravi Kishan landed the role of Abhyuday Singh; the series was aired on Netflix.
  • He was seen in the 2022 Gujarati film Baap No Bagicho.
  • Ravi has always given his opinion in favour of the Indian government adopting a Population Control Bill. In 2022, while giving an interview, Ravi targeted the INC and said that only because of the failure of Congress to implement a robust population control bill, he has four kids. He talked about it and said,

    It is true that I have four children. So I know the struggle of raising them. I tasted success after a lot of struggle. Initially, we were asked to choose either work or money. My wife was tall and slim and after the first and second delivery, I saw her health deteriorating. I was struggling so at that time and used to remain always busy with shooting. Bachhe paida hote gaye. Had no clarity at that time. But now that I have achieved success and wealth when I look at my wife, I feel sorry.”

  • Apart from acting in films, Ravi Kishan has advertised for several well-known brands such as Tata Salt, Dabur Lal Dant Manjan, UltraTech Cement, and Maggi.

    Ravi Kishan in the Tata Salt commercial

    Ravi Kishan in the Tata Salt commercial

  • In March 2023, on Rajat Sharma‘s show Aap Ki Adalat, he shared his casting couch experience in the entertainment industry and said that he somehow managed to escape. When asked to name the perpetrator, he said that he can’t name her as she has become a big shot. He added,

    She had said, ‘Coffee peene raat me aayie (Come over for a cup of coffee tonight).’ I thought that is something people prefer to have during the day. So I got the hint and refused.” [17]NDTV

  • In March 2023, on Rajat Sharma‘s show Aap Ki Adalat, he revealed the rumours that he demanded litres of milk to bathe in and petals of roses to sleep on when he was offered a role in the 2011 Bollywood film Gangs of Wasseypur were true. He said,

    Main doodh se nahata tha aur gulaab ki pankhuriyon pe sota tha. Mujhe aisa lagta tha ke main actor hoon aur yeh sab bahut zaroori hai. Log jab aapko Al Pacino aur Robert De Niro ki filmein dikhane lagte hain, aur bolte hain ke yeh actors aisa karte they, tum bhi karo… Godfather 500 baar dikha diye, aur main desi breed ka kalakar. Khair, yeh sab naatak kiye they ki isse mahaul banta hai. Mujhe lagta tha ke main doodh se naha ke jaunga toh yeh charcha rahegi ki yeh doodh se nahata hai (It’s true, I used to bathe in milk and sleep on rose petals. I used to think of myself as a big star; I thought this was important. People would show me Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s films, and tell me how they used to behave. I was shown The Godfather 500 times, but I’m a desi performer. So, yes, I used to make these demands. I thought if I bathe in milk, people would talk about it).” [18]The Indian Express

  • Ravi is very close to Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He claimed in an interview that he spoke to the CM in Bhojpuri even while discussing important topics.

    Ravi Kishan with CM Yogi Adityanath

    Ravi Kishan with CM Yogi Adityanath

  • According to him, Ravi takes his wife’s blessings by touching her feet while she is asleep.
  • At All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Ravi was once appointed as a member of the governing body. He has also served as Sangeet Natak Akademi’s member.
  • Ravi, in an interview, revealed that he once raised his hand at a fan in front of his mother after he cut his thumb to apply tilak on Ravi Kishan’s forehead.
  • According to the renowned Bollywood director Anurag Kashyap, Ravi used to consume weed. [19]Hindustan Times While giving an interview, he said,

    Ravi Kishan acted in my last film Mukkabaaz. Ravi Kishan starts his day by saying Jai Shiv Shankar, Jai Bam Bhole. Jai shiv Shambhu For the longest period of his time, he has been somebody who has used weed. It is life. Everybody knows it. The whole world knows. There’s not a single person who doesn’t know that Ravi Kishan does not smoke up. He might have quit now, that he has become a minister, he might have cleaned up.”

  • Ravi loves animals, and he has two pet dogs, a Rottweiler, and another dog named Winter.
    Ravi with his pet Rottweiler (left) and Winter (right)

    Ravi with his pet Rottweiler (left) and Winter (right)

     

  • Ravi hit the headlines in March 2023 after he revealed that he was once asked for sexual favours from a film producer when he was in the struggling phase of his career.