Bhojpuri Cinema

Bhojpuri cinema is also watched in many parts of the world, where Indian diaspora has settled, including Brazil, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius,South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many colonizers faced labor shortages due to the abolition of slavery; thus, they imported many Indians, many from Bhojpuri-speaking regions. Today, some 200 million people in the West Indies, Oceania, and South America speak Bhojpuri as a native or second language[1] and they also watch Bhojpuri films.

History
South Asian cinema
* Cinema of India * Assamese cinema * Badaga cinema * Bengali cinema (West Bengal) * Bhojpuri cinema * Gujarati cinema * Hindi cinema * Kannada cinema * Konkani cinema * Malayalam cinema * Marathi cinema * Oriya cinema * Punjabi cinema * Tamil cinema (Tamil Nadu) * Telugu cinema * Tulu cinema * Cinema of Bangladesh * Bengali cinema (Bangladesh) * Cinema of Nepal * Cinema of Sri Lanka * Tamil cinema (Sri Lanka) * Cinema of Pakistan * Karachi cinema * Lahore cinema * Pashto cinema * Pothwari cinema * Sindhi cinema| In 1960s, The first President of India, Rajendra Prasad, who hailed from Bihar met Producer Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi and asked him to make a movie in Bhojpuri, which eventually led to first Bhojpuri film’s release in 1963.[2] Bhojpuri cinema history begins in 1963 with the well-received film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo (“Mother Ganges, I will offer you a yellow sari”), which was Produced by Biswanath Prasad Shahabadi under the banner of Nirmal Pictures and directed by Kundan Kumar.[3] Throughout the following decades, films were produced only in fits and starts Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo

Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo is Bhojpuri film released in 1963 directed byKundan Kumar was the first-ever Bhojpuri film. It had music by Chitragupta and songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi. “Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo” was the first Bhojpuri film in Indian cinema which was released on February 22, 1963 at Veena Cinema, Patna. The film was directed by Kundan Kumar and produced by Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi on behest of 1st President of India Desh Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad with initial budget of Rs.1.5 lakhs eventually ending up at approximately 5 lakhs. The film was shown to Desh Ratna Dr. Rajendra Prasad at a special screening organized at Sadaqat Ashram, Patna before its release. The concept of the film is based on Widow Re- marriage and features Kumkum, Ashim Kumar, and Nasir Hussain in lead role.

PARSI CINEMA (1848-1969)
The diminishing presence of Parsi community cannot overrule their contribution towards Hindi cinema. Ardeshir Irani, a Parsi, is known as the father of talkie films. He nurtured the roots of the Indian cinema and gave it the status that it has acquired today. In 1853, Parsis made their first mark in the Indian entertainment industry. Sohrab Modi, Illustrious follower of Ardeshir Irani, whose picturisation of historic characters created a spirit of national favor, is still an unparalleled portrayal. However, despite their pivotal roles behind the screen, their portrayal on screen is rarely discussed. Irani, the head of Imperial Film Company and maker of silent films like Navalsha Hirji (1925), Mumbai Ni Sethani (1924), Paap No Fej (1924) and Shahjehan (1924), was a visionary who saw that the film industry was about to be revolutionized by sound and beat. With Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara in 1931, film history recorded its first Indian film. Filmography of Indian films has many films highlighting the Parsi culture.

However, the first in the queue is a landmark film directed by Basu Chatterjee, Khatta Meetha. Released in 1978, this film had maximum number of Parsi characters and explored Parsi community without making it look like a caricature. The film highlighted the biggest dilemma amongParsis related to inter-caste marriage. Some songs like ‘Thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai…’ continue to be popular till today. Following the same theme, yet another Basu Chatterjee romantic comedy, Baton Baton Mein was released in 1979. This film essentially probed the dilemma of the Parsis in a very subtle manner. Later, many such films with same concept on Parsis were made. Pestonjee, Percy, Such a Long Journey, 1947: Earth and Being Cyrus to name a few. Same year, Deepa Mehta’s 1947: Earth was released. The film was based on an autobiographical novel, Cracking India (originally titled Ice Candy Man) by a Pakistanborn Parsi author, Bapsi Sidhwa. The story reflected author’s personal experience in Lahore during the India-Pakistan Partition in 1947.