INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Ravi Behl became a household name in the late 90s and early 2000s thanks to the dance show Boogie Woogie
on the show made it a veritable success story
But, during the 90s, Ravi Behl had already been part of blockbusters like Narsimha, Dalal and Agni Sakshi
Despite the boost of success, his career as an actor never quite took off
Going back many years, you worked in The Far Pavilions with Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee and Jennifer Kendall, Shashi Kapoor's wife
I didn't have a scene with Jennifer
My scene was with Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee, Saeed Jaffrey
These were biggies for me
Christopher Lee was Dracula
We'd grown up watching these guys
The director of that show, Peter Duffell, was very good
I had read for an audition, they had come to India and it just so happened that they had a lot of Indian actors, including NRIs from the UK
Unfortunately for the actor who was originally slated to do the part of the Prince and fortunately for me, he fell ill
So they had to cast somebody and I just did a reading and I got it
In fact, I had the good fortune to meet Steven Spielberg on the sets
Amy Irving was also in the show and she was married to Steven Spielberg later on
At that point of time, I think they were in the courtship phase
He had come down to check out locations for his Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
He specially came down to meet her
Even the Far Pavilions team was very nervous initially
I still search for the Polaroids we had shot at the time
Can you share that?When I was a kid, Bruce Lee burst onto the scene
He became the guru of action
I remember there was this guy named Suresh in school, he was a black belt in karate
He used to teach kids karate
Naved, Jaaved and I were in the same school and we were all enthusiastic guys
I just liked karate and fortunately, I was very good at it
My kicks, jumps and flexibility was good
So the trainer used to make us all stay back and used to do extra time with me
There was a guy in our apartment building who had bought nunchakus, inspired by Bruce Lee
I remember I collected money and I bought the nunchaku from him
It was just a hobby, but I used to do all that
Full day, I used to jump around playing with the nunchaku
Veteran and very popular director Ravikant Nagaich, who made Suraksha with Mithun da spotted me
He was making a film with my father (Sham Behl) at that time
But that project became insolvent
When Mr Nagaich used to come to our house, he used to see me do karate and stuff
front of the mirror all day
My mom's one condition was that I could do the acting bit, but only as long as my education doesn't suffer
That's a promise I made to her.Your elder sister Geeta had also forayed into acting by the time you debuted as a child artiste in Morchha
She had done Main Tulsi Tere Angan Ki
And then she did Do Premee with Rishi Kapoor ji
But if I remember right, I think I was the first guy to act from our family
(laughs) What came first, the passion for martial arts or the passion for dance? How have the two influenced each other? I would say it was
I was influenced by the area which I lived in, Bandra
We used to have these parties and there used to be a lot of jiving and dance happening
There were a lot of dancers
Music and dance became our passion
Bruce Lee happened at the same time
We used to dance at home for action
Michael Jackson came on the scene and that did it for me
Naved, Jaaved and I, all had a passion for dance
Jaaved was a John Travolta kind of guy
I was more like Michael Jackson
We never had any classes or dance schools
We used to dance at home.Whether it's action or dancing, you need timing, you need grace and you need flexibility
Martial arts helped me in my flexibility
Doing a split, doing a roundhouse kick
Also, choreography is very important in both practices
Even when you're doing an action sequence, you choreograph the sequence
The punch will come from here, you'll block it, you'll go one step back
You know what I'm saying? That's why I feel dance and action are pretty similar in a lot of ways
After hits like Narsimha, Agni Sakshi and Dalal, your career was on a high
What halted the progress as an actor? Was it Boogie Woogie? Did the show and its production distract you?You hit the nail on the head
I think my last notable film was Agni Sakshi
But all the three films you mentioned were blockbuster hits
You could call it lack of experience
When you are younger, at that time we didn't have much in terms of advice
People weren't available to give you that kind of advice
And of course, with God's blessing, Boogie Woogie happened
Naved and I go a long way
We were buddies from school through college
Mere career ki gaadi nikal chuki thi
Television was just coming up at that time
So we came up with this thought that let's do a dance show because it wasn't done before in India
Naved agreed and I was excited and we got the show
But I knew nothing about production, yet we decided to produce Boogie Woogie together
I was too used to acting, I didn't know the P of production
I thought, let's make money on the side
Because at that time, it was either films or nothing at all
But once I started, I realised production is a full time job
Especially since I was learning it
I was learning along the job and it took up the maximum amount of my time
And somewhere along the way, meeting people and listening to scripts just stopped
Boogie Woogie started and I got totally immersed in that.How do you look back at the chemistry and camaraderie between Jaaved, Naved and you
I would say something, they would pick up from there
That world was so immersive and so engaging
In fact, the respectability that we've gotten from that show is unparalleled
I'm always thankful that Boogie Woogie happened to me
It just was a transition that happened in my career
It gave a lot of people a platform
During our times, we didn't have a platform to showcase our talent
Through our efforts on Boogie Woogie, we were able to create a chance, ki ek common man aake stage pe perform kare
You come from a film family
Your father was a filmmaker
You must have seen production, film sets and actors firsthand.Unfortunately, when my father passed away I was 11
So I really didn't see that glamourous side of the business
He was going through a lot of problems
He was gone by the time I could even start to realise things
After your father passed away, did you assume responsibility of being the man of the house and be the breadwinner? Did that influence your
decision to opt for the security of producing a TV show over the uncertainty of life as an actor?It's like you're reading my mind
But yes, that was one part of life
I started earning money and it would get bread and butter to the table
I've been working for a living ever since I was 11
And that's why after so many years, when Boogie Woogie ended, I didn't do anything for the next 10 years
I realised I haven't had a childhood
I just decided I don't want to do anything
It was like for 10 years, I went into hibernation
I didn't want to move a muscle
and the fact that you are unmarried
What went wrong?I think you fall in love probably once in your lifetime, twice if you're really lucky
I am talking about true love
And I was in love but certain things didn't work out
It took me a long time to get out of it
It was a long distance relationship and it really kind of scarred me
My intentions were honourable, her intentions were honourable, but somewhere down the line, it just didn't happen for whatever reason
After that relationship I used to feel so confused
What if the next relationship doesn't work? That's not the way one should think, but that's what happened to me
I had become like Majnu.How did you end up getting cast in The Night Manager?Let me take you a little back
Once we were done with Boogie Boogie, it had been 10 years
And before that, it had been around 20 years that I hadn't acted
I did small cameos for friends, I did a guest appearance in a web series
But this is like a full-fledged role, as an actor
I'm coming back after 20 years
There was a lot of excitement
And when I first heard the role, I was pretty excited because I love the character
The character is very suave and smooth
He's like a glib talker, kind of a rakish Casanova and yet a gentleman
The character was very exciting for me
The show was made in English as well
I had seen the show two or three years ago
I didn't want to revisit it again because I didn't want to get influenced by that character and the gentleman's acting
He's done a fine job, but I wanted to play it my way
Your co-stars Anil Kapoor and Saswata Chatterjee have been singing hosannas for you
Anil Kapoor equated you to Brando.I swear upon God, I was so touched
All of these guys, including Aditya (Roy Kapur) have never seen me acting
I met AK (Anil Kapoor) sir after 20-30 years
I'm blushing as I'm saying that
When such a big actor like AK sir sits you down and then tells you that you're doing well is very encouraging
How much of this look of yours, with the salt and pepper hair and the beard-mustache, influenced your casting? I would say it played a big
The credit for this look goes to the lockdown
I had a goatee beard, a very light one
One went through so many phases during the lockdown and one day I just said, I don't want to shave
This is a very different look
People have an impression about you from Narsimha, Agni Sakshi, Dalal and Boogie Woogie
