Ravi Kissen

Patna, June 22: Ravi Kissen has emerged a winner from the hot seat of a popular game show and is set to give away the booty in charity.

The Bhojpuri star, who recently won Rs 12.5 lakh in the Bhojpuri Kaun Banega Crorepati, has decided to donate the money for good causes in the state and Uttar Pradesh.

Hosted by “Shotgun” Shatrughan Sinha, the actor shot for the show in Calcutta two days ago, with wife Priti Shukla by his side. The couple managed to reach the 14th question on the game show.

Kissen told The Telegraph he would donate the prize money for the wedding of poor girls and installing streetlights in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively.

He said: “Though I belong to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar has given me recognition as a Bhojpuri star and I owe a lot to this state. I have a huge fan following and I don’t want to run away from my duties. This is the reason that I have decided to divide the money in two parts, half for Bihar and half for Uttar Pradesh.”

On his decision to donate money for girls’ wedding, Kissen said: “I wanted to help those people who are in need of money. But I failed to understand how could it be used for the right purpose. So, in Bihar, I decided to donate the money for marrying off poor girls, as there are many families who don’t have money to get their daughters married.

“I have three daughters myself and I can understand that a father has to face tremendous pressure if he does not have the financial means to support them. These are issues that need to talked about in the broader perspective and this effort will surely send a good message to others,” he added.

Bisui Barai, Kissen’s village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district, has also not been forgotten. “There are no street lights in the village and I want to use the money for this purpose. I am doing this because I believe if everybody starts to think about their hometown, every village will see great changes. The money, which I have won, must be used for social causes,” he said.

In the episode, to be telecast in a few days, Kissen will be seen having a great time with his wife and the actor-parliamentarian host.

Sinha’s questions to Kissen and wife Priti was a blend of films, politics and history. Kissen also got to shake a leg with Shotgun on a few hit Bhojpuri numbers.

Kissen said he had a great time on the sets with Sinha, as he could hear one of his favourite dialogues live.

He said: “I was very lucky to hear his famous dialogue from Vishwanath — ‘Jali ko aag kehte hain, bujhi ko raakh kehte hain, jis raakh se barood banen use Vishwanath kehte hain’. I have heard it several times in the film but this was the first that I heard it live. Shatruji is very good at heart. He complimented me and said I am real tiger of Bhojpuri industry. I was honoured to hear that.”

Kissen was happy to shoot the episode at Calcutta, which he said is like a second home to him. “I love Calcutta. It’s a lovely place and the people are so warm. The city has a special place in my heart because I had shot for my first Bhojpuri film Saiyaan Hamar there and my first actress was also a Bengali. I have every reason to love Calcutta,” he said.

Kissen is not the first celebrity on the Bhojpuri Kaun Banega Crorepati to donate the prize money.

Earlier, Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter Sonakshi had also donated her winning amount to Bollywood star Salman Khan’s non-government organisation Being Human.