For Bhojpuri star and TV personality Ravi Kissen, this could be his breakout year in Bollywood. He has at least four big banner films lined up for 2013, where he will be cast along with some of the top Bollywood stars. "This year has a good pipeline. There are different shades, different looks. I am very happy my hard work of 20-22 years is yielding results and now I am being presented in the best manner," says Ravi Kissen. "I have got the kind of cinema I have always wanted."
He will be soon seen in Zilla Ghaziabad, a thriller about the war between two groups of Gujjars, one led by Vivek Oberoi and the other by Arshad Warsi. Directed by Anand Kumar, the film also stars Sanjay Dutt, Minissha Lamba and Sunil Grover and is slated for a February release. Ravi Kissen, who hit the national limelight with Bigg Boss, will also co-star Sunny Deol in a period satire called Mohalla Assi that is being directed by Chandra Prakash Dwivedi of Pinjar fame. The film, set in the post-independence period, also stars Urmila Matondkar, Manoj Bajpayee and TV star Sakshi Tanwar.
Based on Kashinath Singh's popular Hindi novel Kashi Ka Assi, the film will see Sunny in an unusual role - that of a Sanskrit teacher and an orthodox religious priest with Sakshi playing his wife. It is the turn of comedy for Ravi in Ashima Chibber's Mere Dad Ki Maruti. The Yash Raj Films' project, also starring Saqib Saleem, Ram Kapoor and Prabal Panjabi, is the story of a boy who, without permission, takes his father's new car to impress a college mate played by Rhea Chakraborty - and the consequences that follow.
Ravi Kissen features along with Saif Ali Khan and Sonakshi Sinha in Tigmanshu Dhulia's gangster flick Bullet Raja that is set in Uttar Pradesh's badlands. The film also features Jimmy Shergill and Chunky Pandey and is set for a September release. The 41-year-old is particularly looking forward to Zilla Ghaziabad, noting that the promos have evoked a good response. "People are liking it, it looks very catchy. I have a very rustic look. I'm sure people will like the film. Everyone has worked hard and the result will be out soon." Ravi Kissen was last seen in Jeena Hai Toh Thok Daal and Dangerous Ishhq.
