Chevella Ravi Kumar (born 5 April 1979) known for his TV pseudonym, Bithiri Sathi, is an Indian TV anchor, reporter and actor. ''Bithiri Sathi'', a title character played by him, is an intellectually disabled person, is part of the daily news, Teenmaar News, on Telugu news channel,
V6 News. His news program is a parody on current affairs, politicians and entertainment industry which runs for 8–10 minutes. It is a huge hit for the channel. He became a YouTube sensation with Telugu audience and has millions of hits for his programs.
Early life
Kavali Ravi Kumar (birth name) was born in
Pamena village
Chevella
Chevella is a town, mandal and suburb of Hyderabad in Ranga Reddy district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the headquarters of surrounding villages with many government establishments like Judicial court, Revenue Division Office, Acp off ...
mandal in
Ranga Reddy, Telangana to Yadamma and Kavali Narsimhulu. His father was a drama performer (
Bagotham and
yakshagana
Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur district, Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines da ...
) in the villages. He studied till 5th standard in his village and went to Chevella for high school education. He discontinued education after his intermediate. He was a good mimicry artist and was good at imitating and making fun of people. He became popular among his friends and known circle, and was encouraged to pursue a career in acting in Hyderabad.
Career
Ravi moved to Hyderabad to pursue a career in acting but struggled as was rejected. He worked small jobs to make a living. He finally made his TV debut on
Zee Telugu
Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as ''Alpha Telugu'' and was rebranded as ''Zee Telugu'' on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainm ...
show, ''Comedy Club'', a comedy show with 6–8 participants, and imitation of Tollywood and popular culture personalities. He did well in imitating Tollywood characters.
Narsayya Thata
He started working with Telugu news channel, 6 TV, and did the program, ''Odavani Muchata'' and ''Mana Ooru''. He interviewed celebrities and visited remote villages in an old man's attire. It was well received by the audience. He worked for two years until he moved to V6 news channel.
Bithiri Sathi
His character, Bithiri Sathi, is part of a daily news parody show on V6 News, Theen Maar News. His role along with the host, Savithri, is funny and asks hilarious questions in a vernacular Telangana dialect.
He developed Bithiri Sathi character, an
intellectually disabled
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
person, by closely watching two persons in Chevella with similar condition. He learnt their true nature, behavior and interaction with the people. ''Bithiri'' in Telugu means immature minded person.
Tollywood
He made his Tollywood debut with a side role in 2007 Telugu movie,
Seema Sastry. He acted in three movies in 2017. His performance during the audio launch for the film,
Nene Raju Nene Mantri
''Nene Raju Nene Mantri'' (; a reference to the king and minister (queen) pieces in chess) is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language political action thriller film written and directed by Teja, featuring Rana Daggubati and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead ro ...
, was well received. He did a rap song for 2017 New Year's Eve called as Anti- Virus, and was released on 29 December 2017 on YouTube.
TV Shows
*
Zee Telugu
Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as ''Alpha Telugu'' and was rebranded as ''Zee Telugu'' on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainm ...
Comedy Club
*
6TV Telangana Narssayya Thata – 2012–2014
*
V6 News Teen Maar News – 2015–2019(August)
*
V6 News Weekend Teenmaar Special with Bithiri Sathi – 2015–2019(August)
*
TV9 Telugu
TV9 Telugu (formerly TV9) is an Indian Telugu-language 24-hour news channel focusing on the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It formally launched on 1 February 2004 with a 15-day trial run before the formal launch. It is headquartered in ...
"iSmart News" – 2019(September) – Present.
*''
Sa Re Ga Ma Pa The Next Singing ICON'' (2020) as a guest in episode 9
Filmography
* ''
Seema Sastry'' (2007) – cameo
*
''Rudramadevi'' (2015) – cameo
* ''
Goutham Nanda
''Goutham Nanda'' is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Sampath Nandi. The film stars Gopichand in a double role along with Hansika Motwani and Catherine Tresa while Mukesh Rishi, Sachin Khedekar, and Niki ...
'' (2017) – himself
*
''Winner'' (2017) – as himself
* ''
Nene Raju Nene Mantri
''Nene Raju Nene Mantri'' (; a reference to the king and minister (queen) pieces in chess) is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language political action thriller film written and directed by Teja, featuring Rana Daggubati and Kajal Aggarwal in the lead ro ...
'' (2017) – as reporter
* ''
Raja The Great
''Raja The Great'' is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Anil Ravipudi and produced by Dil Raju on Sri Venkateswara Creations banner. The film stars Ravi Teja as a visually impaired man, alongside Mehreen ...
'' (2017) -as kabaddi player
* ''Thupaki Ramudu'' – As lead actor (releasing 25 October 2019)
*
''Sita'' (2019)
* ''
Brochevarevarura
''Brochevarevarura'' () is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language crime comedy film written and directed by Vivek Athreya and produced by Vijay Kumar Manyam under the banner of Manyam Productions. The film features Sree Vishnu, Nivetha Thomas, Nivet ...
'' (2019)
*
''Gamanam'' (2020)
* ''
Dochevaarevarura'' (2023)
* ''
Sathi Gani Rendu Ekaralu'' (2023)
* ''
Intinti Ramayanam'' (2023)
* ''
Unstoppable'' (2023)
* ''
Bhola Shankar
''Bhola Shankar'' is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language masala action comedy film directed by Meher Ramesh. An official remake of the 2015 Tamil film ''Vedalam'', it stars Chiranjeevi as the titular character
The title character in a narra ...
'' (2023)
Awards and honors
* ''Haasya Prapurna'' title (2015) – Surya Chandra International's Seva Prapurna Puraskar
* Best Presenter Award (2015) – Padmamohana TV Awards
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravi, Chevella
Living people
Indian television presenters
Telugu television anchors
Telugu comedians
21st-century Indian male actors
Indian male film actors
Male actors from Hyderabad, India
1979 births