"Jaunpur is my home. It's a very undeveloped part of UP, so undeveloped that women have to go into the fields for their morning ablutions. The backwardness of the non-urban areas of India is a shame we all have bear."
"It has been my secret desire and an enduring yearning to do something for Jaunpur. Now that I am in a position to be of some help because of my star status, I said, why not take the plunge into politics?
It would give me the platform to bring about real changes," said Ravi and added: "I am on my feet for 22 hours at a stretch. For now it's jeena yahan marna yahan in Jaunpur."
However, his wife and other near and dear ones opposed his decision to fight the Lok Sabha election.
"My wife was totally opposed to my contesting the elections. She was dismayed. 'Tum yeh kahan nayee museebat mole le rahe ho,' she warned me...Everyone I knew seemed to advise me against it. But I was sure this was the next move in my career," he said.
