Bhojpuri
It is already old news, having been reported in the BBC over a year ago, but I just learned that Hindi movies are on the way out. With is focus on big budget (”multi crore“) spectaculars aimed at the transnational Indian audience (NRIs), Bollywood seems to have lost its way with viewers in India’s heartland. They have turned to films produced in the Bhojpuri language, which is related to Hindi, but retains is own distinctive characteristics.
With an audience of over two hundred million speakers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Bhojpuri films are able to earn enough money to lure some of the top Bollywood stars, including the “Big B” himself, Amitabh Bachchan. While the BBC emphasizes the emphasis on “marriage and family,” my friend from Bihar was telling me that there might be a more radical reason for the popularity of these films, as they express the dissatisfaction of rural Indians - a topic that was popular in the Bollywood films of the 1970s, the only Bollywood films which are still watched in these areas.
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Comments
Yeah Shashwati. Not only the frustation but also the culture and environment that is portrayed in the movies seems to be out-worldly for most of people in Hindi heartland. That’s why there is a lot talk about the “Action in the Cow-belt” and the “Revolt of Heartland”.
Thanks Jyotiraditya. Actually, this is Kerim. Shashwati’s blog can be found here. She was upset I beat her to blogging about this after our discussion the other day!
As I was saying at:
http://www.blogbharti.com/bhupinder/films/the-rise-of-bhojpuri-cinema/
the Big B has always been close to the only Bollywood star to speak the bhasha, so to speak, with anything like a convincing accent.
And while I am on the topic, I have to say, I hadn’t been to India in 8 years, but finally got to visit over the holidays. And the most pleasant new thing I found was late night FM radio in the Lucknow area–Bhopuri-leaning songs all night long…Man lay gayee rey dh-hoebanya Rama, kaisaa jaadhoo daal kay! Kaisaa jadhoo daal kay ray kaisa tona maar kay…man lay gayee ray dh-hoebanya Rama kaisa jaadhoo daal kay…
An anthropologist and documentary filmmaker, 
[…] Kerim observes that the reason for increasing popularity of Bhojpuri films may be the dissatisfaction with Hindi cinema for which rural India is no longer the focus. With an audience of over two hundred million speakers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Bhojpuri films are able to earn enough money to lure some of the top Bollywood stars, including the “Big B” himself, Amitabh Bachchan. Posted by bhupinder […]