Actor & Doctor Madala Ravi: A life dedicated to cinema, medicine and social service

Veteran actor, filmmaker and renowned gastroenterologist Dr. Madala Ravi is being feted on his birthday for his contributions to cinema, social work and healthcare.

Dr. Ravi started his acting career as a child artist in Erra Mallelu, the film produced by his father, the legendary director Madala Ranga Rao. He became famous through the picturised song ‘Nampally Station Kadi’, which was a blockbuster and fetched critical acclaim and awards. As a young man, Dr. Ravi studied at Russia and got his MD in Internal Medicine and DM in Gastroenterology. He served as the Managing Director of a reputed pharmaceutical company while also working as the Cultural Secretary for Indian organisations based in Russia.

Post his studies, he set up his own production house and produced and acted in films like Nenu Saitham, Maa Ilavelpu, Broker 2, Panchamukhi, Veeragadha, Aaj Ka Inquilaab, and Naag Laxmi. He continues to act and produce films in the Telugu film industry.

The doctor-turned-actor is also popularly called “People’s Doctor”. Through his free medical camps, he has been providing treatment to a large number of people belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society, including the daily wage labourers and villagers who cannot afford private hospitals.

Dr. Ravi is also a social activist and has been associated with Praja Natya Mandali and the Left parties like CPI and CPI (M). He has participated in many of their agitations and has worked for the cause of the art and its development.

As the Vice President of Movie Artists Association (MAA) Dr. Ravi has also taken part in conducting free health check-up camps for the poor and also welfare activities for the artists and workers in the film industry. Apart from this, he has received numerous awards for his contributions to the society.