He appeared in just one scene, and it had no dialogue. “Even for a role with no dialogue, the director had an audition and I was chosen,” explains ‘Pondy’ Ravi, who played a cop in Ang Lee’sLife Of Pi .
In the film, Ravi stands next to a signal, regulating traffic. “I had a big moustache then for a photo shoot of Tamil filmThagaraar . The shooting for the film is on. I play an honest cop in the film,” he says.
The policeman connect
In fact, playing a cop is not new to Ravi. Son of a theatre artiste from Neyveli, Ravi has acted in 60 films, and in most of them he appears as a policeman. In fact, his first break was in Mani Ratnam’sAlaipayuthey , as a cop. InKaaka Kaaka too, I was a cop and Suriya’s driver. Perhaps, directors think I look like one,” he says. He has also appeared in films such asMinnale andRamanaa .
Ravi, who runs a video lab and also liaisons for films shot in Puducherry, says he learns a lot from them. He spent over eight months with director Ang Lee during the pre-production and shooting ofLife Of Pi in Puducherry.
“Since their pre-production was planned, they did not waste time in shooting and post-production. They were meticulous… It was a pleasure to work with them,” he says. He has liaisoned for over 200 feature films and 200 ad films. “I am a graduate from the School of Drama, Pondicherry University. I love films, and I’m happy to be associated with them,” he says.
