Till last week, it was not Punjabi or Haryanvi but Bhojpuri films that were keeping cash registers ringing at cinema halls in the industrial towns of Punjab and Haryana. However, the bomb blast in one of the cinema halls in Ludhiana last week that killed six migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar watching a new Bhojpuri film Janam Janam Ka Saath, is feared to prove a dampener for these films.
Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari has condemned the bomb blast that took place during the screening of his latest film Janam Janam Ka Saath. “I sympathise with the families of the victims but it appeared to be a plan to attack the most vulnerable migrant population and to destroy Bhojpuri film business in Punjab,” said Tiwari. It is a well-known fact that the changing demographic profile of these towns – thanks to the influx of industrial labour from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar – has led the otherwise-sluggish film business to cash on this class by catering to them in their very own language.
On an average, eight to 10 Bhojpuri films are released in the Punjab region (comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh) every month. These films are earning revenue between rupees four to six lakh a week. Film distributors in Jalandhar say that Bhojpuri films earn them a share of anything between Rs 8000- 15,000 from each cinema hall where the film is exhibited.
Popular Bhojpuri films like Ganga (starring Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini) and Panditji Bataiye Na Biyah Kab Hoi have run to packed cinemas for almost a month. In fact, this year’s biggest Bhojpuri hit film Panditji Bataiye Na Biyah Kab Hoi earned revenue of Rs 6 lakh a week. Bhojpuri films like Banke Bihari and Purv Aur Pachhim, starring Ravi Shankar and Rambha, attracted a sizeable crowd.