Today we’d like to introduce you to Raviteja Cherughattu.
Raviteja, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It was 10:30 PM, my Mom, me and my sister just finished watching this dance show on TV. My Mom switched off all the lights, made sure the doors were locked and we were basically getting ready for bed. Few minutes later, I could hear utter silence around me. I knew that my Mom and my sister slipped away into sleep. I get up, tiptoe to my room door and I gently close it. I find a pair of headphones, the cheap ones you get every time you get onto an airplane, but it didn’t really matter to me at that age. I plugged it into a Sony walk-man, pushed in an A. R. Rahman’s a cassette and closed my eyes. I was lost in music, passion took over me and in no time, I felt my feet off the ground. I didn’t care for how I danced, or what I danced, or how long I danced. All I could feel was my body responding to the beats rhythmically, synchronously. I was ten years old when my story began.
Seventeen years later, my YouTube has got 19.5 Million cumulative views and a strong subscriber base of 62K. My story is a story of passion. Passion has made me a Solution Architect, Actor, Stage Performer, Radio Show Host, Graphic Designer and a Photographer.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Smooth road? Hahaha. Life is always difficult for an artist. The creativity in your mind, the visions that you can see, the intricacies that show themselves only to you, the colors that are visible to you in maximum resolution, the heart that gets excited with every drop of any art form and the mind that is doing a trillion calculations per microsecond. Life is always difficult for an artist.
The constant battle of acceptance bothered me a lot. I was different as a kid, but I wanted to be accepted as a normal child. No one told me it was okay to be different. I was called names. I sucked at academics. I wasn’t allowed to dance/participate in sports because I sucked at academics. It was HORRIBLE. With time, I learned how people talked, how things worked, how I should ignore toxicity around me, how to talk convincingly, and how to solve problems that hindered my freedom to express my passion.
After a point in my life, I realized that this life is something that keeps growing constantly, and so should learning. If you stop learning, you’d be incapable of facing the challenges life throws at you. Learning is difficult, you have to put in the hard work, you have to sweat, you won’t have friends, you’d be lonely, but you shouldn’t stop learning. Once I realized that, life has become a satisfying road.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I have a vast experience of fourteen years in performing and choreographing on stage/camera and ten years in building software solutions and graphic designing. I specialize in building software solutions to real-world problems, designing movie posters, logos, brochures, other design elements and giving an entertaining performance on camera and on stage.
I’m super proud of the fact that I care for the tiny details in every task I take up. The intricate details make a huge difference and not a lot of people recognize or acknowledge or follow that principle. I spend a lot of time, just doing minute corrections to my canvas. What sets me apart from others is that I genuinely love working with people, I truly care for their product and I put my 100% into the job regardless of the result.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Passion takes you that extra mile, lets you discover that unique quality in yourself. Luck lets you use that discovered unique quality in yourself, in any particular way that you want to use it.
I was hired as the Marketing and Social Media Manager for a short film. As a part of the crew, I offered to help the team out with auditions. So, I was given the responsibility of being the doorkeeper. I was at the door from morning till evening (throughout the day), greeting various actors who were coming in to audition. I would have a little chat with them before they went in to audition.
After about 6 hours into the job, there was an actor who didn’t show up. The director and the producer who were holding the auditions, came out to take a break during which the director had asked, “Why don’t you audition?” I was shockingly surprised. Repeating the question, he had added, “It isn’t going to harm you, is it?”. I took a few minutes to let the idea sink in so I could prepare, and gave my audition afterwards. The director, the producer & the casting director loved my performance and enthusiasm. It took them a day to decide if I could be casted for that role considering that I was already a part of their crew. That’s how I got my first acting gig in Dallas. That was one of the times when I had experienced the rush of luck. Luck has been super kind to me in my Life. *touchwood*
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cravi47.carbonmade.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tejafry
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tejafry
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/RavitejaCherughattu
Image Credit:
1. Aishwarya Viswatmula
2. Judy Babinski
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