Boogie Woogie fame Ravi Behl opens up on present reality shows, says 'thoda aur agar genuine rakhein...' | Exclusive

Ravi Behl became a household name in the 1990s as he hosted and produced the OG dance reality show Boogie Woogie with Naved Jafri and Jaaved Jaaferi. The show ran successfully for seven seasons in its seventeen years from 1997 to 2014. After enjoying a memorable stint on national television, Ravi is making an acting comeback with the streaming series The Night Manager led by Aditya Roy Kapur and Anil Kapoor.

During an exclusive conversation with DNA, while promoting the upcoming action thriller OTT show, Ravi Behl shared what sets Boogie Woogie apart from the present reality shows and revealed if the show will ever make its comeback. Reality shows today are often ridiculed for focusing less on talent and becoming more similar to daily soaps following a similar script. We asked Ravi his thoughts on the same and he responded, "I am glad that one thing has remained constant that a common man is being given an opportunity. We started the show (Boogie Woogie) because we didn't have such a platform back then."

"Films were the only source of entertainment then, television hasn't become so big. By God's grace, we started and today, all these shows are fantastic and huge. Theek hai har cheez me thoda 19 hota hai, thoda 20 hota hai, lekin common factor ye hai ki aam aadmi ko chance mil raha hai and that's a very good thing. Haan thoda aur agar genuine rakhein toh mazza aaega (Though there is a slight difference, the common factor is that a common man is getting an opportunity. If they try to keep it more genuine, then it will be better.) In our time, we didn't believe in scripts. The masti-mazaak was all very natural and families used to love it. It was one such show that the entire family could sit together and enjoy", the actor added.

When we asked Ravi if there was any pressure to dramatise Boogie Woogie which led to them ending the show, he said, "Not really, there were a few inputs but that was not the reason. The point was that we did it for 17-18 years, everything has its time. For example, if Friends would have extended for ten more years, then also people would have seen it. Before people could say "bas ho gaya (it's too much)", we would rather end it on a note where people would say, "Arre yaar kyun chale gaye (Why did you guys left)". We wanted a certain dignity to it and you never know, we might start it again tomorrow."

The Night Manager is an official adaptation of the British television series of the same name featuring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie in the lead roles. The OTT show is set to stream as Hotstar Specials on Disney+ Hotstar on February 17 onwards. 

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