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In South, they make actors Chief Ministers straight away: Ravi Kishan hints at Vijay
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New DelhiJul 24, 2026 04:58 PM IST Ravi Kishan took a dig at Vijay being elected as CM of Tamil Nadu. Actor-politician Ravi Kishan, who has appeared in over 700 films in his three-decade-long career, recently opened up about his political career, whilst also balancing a fairly active career in the movies. Ravi was a guest at The Indian Express’ Idea Exchange on Friday, July 24. During the conversation, Ravi was asked about Aamir Khan’s production Laapataa Ladies, where Ravi played a pivotal role. He shared that director Kiran Rao offered him the role when he was a newly elected parliamentarian. He also spoke about taking his career as a parliamentarian quite seriously and made a remark, without naming Vijay, “If you go to south, they make actors Chief Ministers straight away.” Ravi was asked about Aamir auditioning for the same role as him and he shared, “Aamir did his own audition. He wanted to play my character. He got his uniform also but Kiran Rao, she saw me in Mukkabaaz, and she wanted me in that role.” ‘If you go to south, they make actors CMs straight away’ Ravi recalled that he was offered when he was a newly elected MP. “I had just won as an MP, and I was very excited to go to the parliament. I know a few of my senior actors did not go to the parliament as much, and because of that, there was an impression that actors are not serious about this,” he said. Ravi said that he has always been very keen to do his job as an MP and enjoys attending the Parliament. He then hinted at VIjay’s ascent as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and said, “If you go to South, they make actors CMs straight away.” Ravi is a BJP MP. Ravi then elaborated on Laapataa Ladies and said that when Kiran called and requested for half an hour of his time, he made it clear that his parliamentary duties did not allow him the time for her, but since Kiran was quite keen on casting, she came to Delhi to meet him. “She said, ‘I want to meet you very urgently’.” In 45 minutes, Ravi said yes to the script. He revealed that the budget of the film was Rrs 5 crore and it eventually went on to make Rs 150-200 crore.Story continues below this ad ‘Laapataa Ladies missed out on National Awards’ Ravi shared that after the film released in theatres and received the audience’s love, that is when Aamir uploaded his own audition. “I got an IIFA, a Filmfare; it even went to the Oscars. We missed out on the National Awards; perhaps it was not submitted,” he said. Ravi Kishan played a local cop named Shyam Manohar in the film who appears to be a negative character at first, but eventually plays a crucial role in getting Pratibha Ranta’s Jaya out of her abusive husband’s trap.
District Education officers of six South Gujarat districts have asked schools to make up the loss that occurred due to heavy downpour. (AI Generated Image)To make up for the days lost in the heavy downpour leading to an emergency situation, the District Education Officers of the six south Gujarat districts have directed schools to make up for the loss by working on public holidays. This is to comply with the 120 mandatory working days in the first semester which has just begun over a month ago.Heavy downpour had been witnessed on Thursday and Friday in South Gujarat. Many roads in the urban and rural areas in the region had been affected leading the government to announce a holiday on both days. Even in Ahmedabad which was badly affected by the heavy rainfall, schools and colleges were closed on both days. Keeping the present situation in mind and acting on the instructions of District Collectors of affected districts in South Gujarat, the District Education officers (DEO) of respective districts — Surat, Tapi, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad and Dang declared holiday in the schools as a precautionary measure. As per the new notification issued by the District Education Officers of these districts in South Gujarat on Thursday evening, the education affected by the two-day holiday will be covered in the next two public holidays. This means that, in the next two upcoming public holidays, schools and colleges will remain operational, and students have to attend classes and cover the pending syllabus. Surat District Education Officer Bhagirathsinh Parmar told the Indian Express, “The education of students has been affected due to the heavy downpour and holidays declared on Thursday and Friday. In order not to make the students suffer, a decision has been taken to keep the school functioning in upcoming two public holidays. Now it is up to the schools to decide which two holidays they will select to keep the schools working. The school has to intimate the students early and declare the holidays for the upcoming two holidays.” Sources said that in the first academic semester 120 school days should be operational. The first terminal exams is due on October 19-28 which will be followed by the Diwali vacation till November 18.Story continues below this ad However on Thursday Morning, many students were unaware about the holiday declared by DEO or school authorities, as a result of which, large number of students reached to the schools in Surat city and District areas. After learning about the holidays, some students returned to their homes on their own while, in some cases, parents reached the school and took their kids back home. Parents have requested school authorities for advance intimation of such holidays declared in emergency situations so that students don’t end up coming to school risking their lives. On Thursday children of a school had to be rescued from a bus stranded in flood waters in Ahmedabad. Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli. With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs. Expertise Industrial & Economic Beat: Based in the "Diamond City," Saiyed offers expert reporting on the diamond and textile industries. His work tracks global market shifts (such as De Beers production changes), local trade policies, and the socio-economic challenges facing the millions of workers in Surat’s manufacturing hubs. Civic & Infrastructure Coverage: He consistently reports on urban development and public safety in Surat, including: Traffic & Urban Planning: Monitoring the city's 13-fold increase in traffic violations and the implementation of new municipal dr
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