Ravi Kishan plays Akhilesh Yadav

In  Ranjit Tiwari’s striking prison-break drama Lucknow Central, the very accomplished Ravi Kishan is cast as a suave, smiling Chief Minister who is accompanied by hi-tech advisers, and who keeps ticking off bureaucrats with subtle semi-humorous threats.

Anyone can see Ravi’s character is modelled on the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav.

And Ravi is not denying it.  “That’s the model of a politician we had in mind. I had just three to four scenes and I was not sure I should do it. But my producer Nikhil Advani was keen. I modelled my character on Akhileshji. I studied a lot of his footage. What I liked about him was his refinement and cultured attitude, even when he was admonishing bureaucrats. That’s how I played my politician’s character in Lucknow Central. Why do politicians always have to be crass and potbellied in our films?” he said.

A potbelly is far from Ravi’s mind and body right now. Fitter than ever at 46, the actor is ready to play the most challenging role of his life in Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz. “I play a Dalit boxer in Mukkabaaz. To look convincing as a boxer I’ve lost so much weight I can finally feel the weight of my mojo . This film is like a career re-launch for me,” he said with a smile.