Ravindra Shyamnarayan Shukla (रवि किशन), known professionally as Ravi Kishan, is an Indian actor, film producer, and politician born on 17 July 1969 in Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra. His family is originally from the village of Barain (also cited as Kerakat), Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh. He is the youngest of five siblings and grew up partly in Jaunpur. When he was around 17, he ran away from home to Mumbai with almost no money, determined to become an actor. He attended Rizvi College, Bandra West, Mumbai, completing his schooling there. He made his acting debut in Pitambar (1992) and spent years struggling for visibility in Bollywood before an opportunity in Bhojpuri cinema transformed his career. He starred in the Bhojpuri films Pandit Ji Batai Na Biyah Kab Hoi (2004) and Kab Hoi Milanwa Hamar (2004) and rapidly became the most bankable star in Bhojpuri cinema — appearing in 300+ Bhojpuri films. His Hindi film credits include Phir Hera Pheri (2006, as Gangster Chhote), Aan: Men at Work (2004), 1971 (2007), Agneepath (2012), Race Gurram (Telugu, 2014), Hebbuli (Kannada, 2017), and Laapataa Ladies (2023, for which he won the Filmfare and IIFA Best Supporting Actor awards). He dubbed Spider-Man's Bhojpuri voice for Spider-Man (2007) and his Bhojpuri film Jala Debh Duniya Tohra Pyar Mein (2010) was screened at Cannes. He has hosted shows including Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka (NDTV Imagine) and participated in Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5 (2012). In November 2006, he entered Bigg Boss Season 1 on Sony TV, finishing as the second runner-up (third place) on 26 January 2007 — the show sparked nationally reported rumours about an in-house relationship with Carol Gracias, which both denied. He married Priti Shukla on 10 December 1993; they have four daughters, with his eldest Riva Kishan also pursuing a Bollywood career. In politics, he joined the INC in 2014 (contesting from Jaunpur), switched to BJP in 2017, and won the Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat with over 3 lakh votes in 2019 and was re-elected in 2024. He received the Sansad Ratna Award in 2025 for exceptional parliamentary performance.

750+ films across Bhojpuri, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Tamil; becoming the undisputed king of Bhojpuri cinema; finishing as second runner-up (third place) in Bigg Boss Hindi Season 1 (2006); winning Lok Sabha twice as BJP MP from Gorakhpur (2019, 2024); Best Supporting Actor Filmfare and IIFA Awards for Laapataa Ladies (2023); Sansad Ratna Award (2025).

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