Directors voice: From the heart of Deswa

Directors voice: From the heart of Deswa

by Prashant Kumar

Well after the fiasco of Bhojpuriya Don, where every media including us reported about the film starring badsah of PR antics, Manoj Tiwary, Bhojpuriya Don being screened at IFFI this year. We reported that news slightly late because we were aware of his earlier PR antics where he claimed that Holland Government has released postal stamps in his honour, well later we came to know that I can also get a stamp for my dog released by paying a small amount at Holland as Postal department is privatised out there. We have added a note to our earlier posting and are sorry for carrying it out without full proof investigation. So this time around, when the news of Deshwa being showcased at Film festival came, we took a decision that unless we are going to get a full proof story we are not going to publish the story having already burned our fingers. Although I am very happy for Nitin Chandra and the entire crew of Deshwa, I share a very personal relationship with Nitin apart from our professional commitments, even then I didnt publish the story as I wanted to make sure that, well the film was actually showcased. Here is a straight mail from Nitin which I would like to share. This is a proud moment for revival of bhojpuri cinema.

Deswa the first Bhojpuri film to be showcased at IFFI

This is what Nitin personally wrote to me , “Deswa was showcased on 2nd of January. We announced the advent of Cinema in International Film Festival of India, Goa. With a sizeable amount of people, 75 % of the theatre was full and people were from France, Berlin, South Asian Countries and a lot of Indian Audience including people from Bihar. A lady from France was amazed to see the real rural India which is totally missing nowadays from Indian Cinema. A certain section of audience who was from Bihar seemed to be a little embarrased to see their own langauge, which they think is a low class langauge. On the contrary, the marathi audience really applauded the visual treatment, locations and color tones. A guy from Bihar was wondering why I did not made the film in hindi. I was not able to comprehend that why an awakened audience (as we assume in festival circuit) would ask to make a film based in rural Bihar in hindi. Hindi is not a language of rural hinterlands of Bihar. So, how can it be made in hindi. A story about problems of villagers in TN will be in Tamil, in Maharahstra would be Marathi, in Bengal would be in Bengali. Only people in bihar are seems to be expecting an internationally accepted piece of cinema in bhojpuri to be in hindi. But I can understand why there is such kind of feeling. Because, bhojpuri films are more or less pornography styled or low on quality cinema which has not only taken away the thinking capacity of rural biharis but also self esteem of urban biharis, who were once bhojpuri speaking folk but looking at the plight of bhojpuri, they dont want to associate with the language and its customs. I am afraid that coming generation might loathe the divine rendition of Sharda Sinha’s Chaath  folklores only because it is in bhojpuri. A few months back, I was informed by my friends in media that some film called Bhojpuriya Don is going to IFFI. I instantly got goosebumps, because incidentaly I had seen the trailer of that incongruous piece of dance and violence on internet. I was not bothered about my film DESWA but I was getting jitters about losing a great deal of respect for our langauge, people and the land at IFFI. I am a regular visitor of IFFI since last 5 years and I know what kind of audience comes there. A Bhojpuriya Don would have killed the image once and for all. That film cant even be watched about an ordinarily educated person from Bihar. The kind of brain dead films which are being exported to Bihar from Mumbai will only yield low esteemed urban biharis and low thinking rural biharis who see these films. Anyway, I am here to make more and more bhojpuri/maithili/hindi/magahi films so that I set up a Bihar based film industry.”

Team Bihardays wishes you all the best in your future en-devours.