A Voice So Strong

His strong voice matches his equally strong personality. Every film that consists of his voice becomes a hit. With some of the biggest fan followings, his popularity in the South film industry surpasses all.

The Big Baddie Of South Film Industry; Image Source: Deccan Chronicle

For decades, the South film industry has gained the powerful reputation of making some of the most influential and thoughtful films. With some of the best actors and directors, the South film industry has become a source of inspiration for all the other industries in India. One such man who has given his powerful voice to more than 3500 films, and whose awe-inspiring acting skills make him one of the most popular and loved actors of the of South India, is none other than Dubbing King, Pudipeddi Ravi Shankar.

Born in Chennai, Pudipeddi was born in the house of actors. While his father, Pudipeddi Jogeswara Sharma was an actor and dubbing artist, his mother Krishna Jyothy Pudipeddi too was a Telugu actress. Ravi’s elder brother, Pudipeddi Sai Kumar too is a dubbing artist and actor. Growing up in a family full of actors, Shankar’s acting skills were naturally honed.

He finally kickstarted his acting career with his debut film Aalochinchandi, directed by R. Narayana Murthy. Later on, he was also seen in some supporting roles in films like Madhura Nagarilo and Keechurallu. As time passed, the movie offers declined and Ravi made a comeback with Gopi Chand’s Tholi Valapu as a villain. Though he tried his best to make his career successful, luck did not favour him. Opting for dubbing like his father and brother, he continued to dub several famous actors like Mohan Raj, Raghuvaran, Devaraj, Charan raj, Captain Raju, Nassar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Prakash Raj, Ashutosh Rana, Sonu Sood, Mukesh Rishi, Upendra, and Pradeep Rawat.

Ravi Shankar’s voice was well-accepted by the audience and the film directors who sought after him for their films. He has a record of dubbing in over 4000 films. Adept at acting and dubbing, he wanted to try his hands at directing films. His first directorial debut was Durgi, in which he cast Malashri. His dubbing performance in the film Arundhati for Sonu Sood was appreciated in the Idlebrain review.

Though Pudipeddi’s name was quite popular in the dubbing industry, he was still unsatisfied for not being able to fulfill his mother and his dream of becoming a successful actor. He had to wait for twenty-five years before he got the biggest break of his career, Kempe Gowda in 2011. This film became so famous that Ravi was called by the name “Kempegowda Ravishankar”. His marvellous performance was not only appreciated by the critics, but he also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, his mother could not witness the success of his son due to her death in 2006.

After Kempe Gowda, Ravi became one of the most sought-after actors in the South film industry as he completed fifty films in just five years. His popularity among the audience grew by leaps and bounds and in every film, his appearance is welcomed with loud claps and whistles by his diehard fans. His fan associations in Karnataka and all across South India are considered to be some of the biggest fan associations of India. On his every birthday, fans hoard in front of his house to wish him.

In one of his interviews, he said that Karnataka fulfilled his dream of becoming a successful actor and he will forever be indebted to it. He also said, “Telugu might be my mother tongue, but Kannada is my language of life and I will proudly call myself a Kannadiga.”