Sony Entertainment Television’s India’s Best Dancer Season 5 is heading towards its Race to the Finale, with contestants competing for a place in the grand finale. The upcoming semi finale episode will feature actress Raveena Tandon as a special guest. During the episode, contestant Anshika asks Raveena to convince her mother to allow her to get a tattoo. The conversation leads Raveena to share stories about her own tattoos and explain why getting inked has a much deeper meaning for her.
Karisma Kapoor recalls that Raveena was among the early actors to get a visible tattoo at a time when tattoos were not easily available in India. Raveena explains that tattooing has actually been part of Indian traditions for centuries, especially in villages and tribal communities. She says, “Hindustan mein bohot sadiyon se gudhwana hota tha. Aap gaon jayenge, Rajasthan jayenge, humare tribal areas hain country mein, toh gudhwana ek tradition hai. Lekin woh sui se hota tha.” She adds, “I feel a tattoo is an emotional thing. Maine mere bacchon ke naam ka tattoo kiya hua hai, maine paws kiye hue hain because I’m crazy about animals.”
Raveena also recalls a funny incident connected to her Scorpio tattoo. She once took a picture of a scorpion from a newspaper to a parlour, but the artist misunderstood the design and thought it was a prawn. Raveena says, “Toh main ek parlour mein gayi jahan woh log eyebrows tattoo karte the, toh maine ek newspaper se Scorpio ka design nikaal ke, I went to the parlour. Maine usko bola, dekho mujhe ye tattoo karna hai. Usne bola, ‘Kahan? Yahan maathe pe?’ because they were eyebrow tattoo. Maine kaha, scorpion tattoo karna hai shoulder ke paas, toh woh boli, ‘Ye zhinga?’ Maine kaha, ‘Ye zhinga nahi hai, ye bichhu hai, bichhu.’” She eventually got the tattoo done properly in Los Angeles in 1992. Raveena adds, “Ye ek fashion statement mere liye toh nahi hai. For me, it’s emotional.”
The actress then shares the emotional story behind her daughter Rasha’s butterfly tattoo. According to Raveena, Rasha got the tattoo after her Nana passed away. She believes that butterflies appearing around her while she is shooting are a sign that her grandfather is blessing her. Raveena says, “Rasha ne kiya kyunki Nana guzar gaye, unka dehant jab hua. Unko lagta hai ek butterfly ke roop mein, har baar woh shooting karti hai, ek butterfly unpe aake baithta hai, which has been happening to her all the time. Toh usko always lagta hai unke Nana unko kahi na kahin bless kar rahe hain.”
Raveena explains that the butterfly tattoo also contains colours and symbols connected to Mahadev and Krishna Ji. She says, “Toh uss hisaab se unhone butterfly ka tattoo banaya jisme Mahadev ke rang aur Krishna ji ke rang usme bhare hain.” She further reveals, “Aap dekhoge, uske tattoo mein Krishna ji ka mor ka pankh hai butterfly ke pankhon ke andar aur Mahadev ka Neelkanth hai. For Rasha, these symbols represent that this is guiding her through life. Toh for her these are the three, jo uski zindagi ko sambhaal rahe hain, toh ye bohot emotional cheez hai, koi khilvaad nahi hai.”
Raveena also advises Anshika to understand the emotional meaning of getting a tattoo before making the decision. She tells her, “Ye bohot emotional cheez hai, koi khilvaad nahi hai.” She then suggests choosing something that represents her bond with her parents and says, “Mummy papa’s girl likhke tattoo banao, vo zindagi bhar tumhare saath rahenge.”
Through her conversation on India’s Best Dancer Season 5, Raveena highlights how tattoos can represent family, love, faith and memories rather than being just a fashion choice.
