I came back to India because now I want to do Hindi TV shows: Ravi Bhatia

Ravi Bhatia, who was last seen in Ekta Kapoor's historical saga 'Jodha Akbar' as prince Salim, moved to Indonesia to milk his immense fan-following in the south-Asian country. After staying there for almost two years, the actor is now back in aamchi Mumbai.


When quizzed is it the diminishing ratings of shows featuring Indian TV actors in Indonesia, that prompted the move. However, refuting the buzz, Ravi says, "I don't think the popularity of Indian TV actors is diminishing. In fact, it's growing rapidly with each passing day. I came back because I wanted to do a show in India. I was missing my family, especially my Maa, who would keep asking, 'Beta tu kab yahan ke TV pe aayega?' I am still getting offers from other Indonesian channels, who are ready to pay hefty amount. But as of now, I want to do a nice show here in India."

The actor made his debut on Indonesian small screen with the second season of Shaheer Sheikh starrer popular drama 'Cinta Di Langit Taj Mahal' (Love n The Air Of Taj Mahal), following which he did several shows, including Roro Jonggrang, Gara Gara Duyung and Sambhalado. Talking about his experience in Indonesia, Ravi says, "The experience there was in stark contrast with Mumbai. But, career wise, I had the best time in Indonesia. I met new people, learned a new language — Bhasha Indonesia. While shooting and promoting the shows, I visited almost every city of Indonesia. Fans over there have immense respect and love for Indian actors. Initially, my contract was just for 3 months. But thankfully, things went great for me and I ended up staying back for much longer! And these two years have changed my entire life, as a person as well as an actor. If I have to sum up my experience in Indonesia in one word, I would say — 'marvelous'."

In Indonesia, Bhatia also recorded a trilingual music single along with Indonesian singing sensation Adila Fitri and won lots of accolades. But now that he is back in India, what kind of roles is he looking forward to? "I want to do performance-oriented roles, be it in any genre. Let's see what comes my way. As of now, I am pretty excited as I am about to embark on a new journey on Indian television and also nervous, because I need to begin my career once again from scratch. But this time, I will start all over again with a whole lot of experience,"  Ravi concludes.