The recently released Bihari flavour films are in the limelight these days. All these films were released during Bihar Foundation Day celebration recently in Patna theatre. The Government of Bihar has honoured them for their efforts in making such thematic contemporary films.
‘The Lipstick Boy’
A dramatic Hindi Film based on “Launda Naach” a folk dance inspired by a veteran folk writer in Bhojpuri language of Bihar and UP region, Bhikhari Thakur.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has given a prologue. Bachchan has lent his voice to the film “The Lipstick Boy” directed by a resident of Bihar’s Begusarai district, now migrated to Mumbai Abhinav Thakur.
The film was screened for the first time on the occasion of Bihar Diwas in a theatre recently.
The idea of this film occurred to him when he met Kumar Uday Singh, who is a folk dancer from Bihar and does Launda Naach at NSD campus, Delhi.
Talking about the movie, director Thakur told The Statesman that the main objective of this film is to take the famous “Launda Naach” which is disappearing from Bihar to the country, to show that the life of the artists associated with this culture is full of struggles.
There was a time when this dance was prevalent in the costume of women. Bhikhari Thakur, who has been called Shakespeare of Bhojpuri, and the play written by him, Bidesia dominated the corridors of Bollywood, but with the changing times, both the interest and tradition of the people have Changed.
Even today, there are many such artists in Bihar who are keeping this form of dance alive, the story of this film is inspired by the life of Bihar’s famous Launda dancer Kumar Uday Singh and artists like him.
“Today, when any artist dances in the environment of a woman, people taunt him, look at him with an inferiority complex and call her a launda, but still that artist does not leave his art and keeps his culture alive. Director Abhinav is bringing the story and struggle of the actors through this film on the big screen through “The Lipstick Boy”.
The Hindi film “The Lipstick Boy”, produced under the banner of Sand Films Production, is based on the famous folk dance.
The film has received phenomenal response. The movie theater was filled to capacity with individuals from various age groups, who expressed their admiration and enthusiasm for the film by applauding and cheering.The film has been created for a worldwide audience.
Talking about the main character in the movie, the director said that Manoj Patel, a famous film and TV actor from Bihar, is in the lead role. The movie has been filmed in Bihar’s Nalanda and Patna in the year 2020 but due to pandemic lockdown the film could not get a chance to release it now the film will soon be released among the audience, film director said. Almost all the cast in the film and locations are from Bihar.
‘Samaantar
Another popular film made by another Bihari Niraj Mishra which was also released on Bihar diwas celebration in Patna. The 91 minutes film “Samaantar” is also promoted by megastar Bachchan.
“To the people of Bihar, for the people of Bihar, and by the people of Bihar. Everything is new about Samanantar. Not only did we make this film with all the unknown faces, but also 95% of the actors acted for the first time and faced the camera for the first time,” producer of the film Mishra said.
“Except for me, all the technicians were college pass-out, including the cinematographers Archit Mishra and Pulkit Raathi. So technically, I was the only experienced person on the set. It was a great challenge, but we accepted it happily,” he told The Statesman.
“I’ve put my own money into making this film. My love for audio-visual media is close to madness, this is what people say”, said Mishra. “In 2018, I wrote my first commercial film, Baaghi 2, followed by Samanantar around Covid 19”, Mishra said.
The film has been officially selected and screened at many festivals across the globe, which include the 12th Chicago South Asian Film Festival (USA), the 18th Terni Film Festival (Italy), the 14th Cinema Rehiyon Film Festival (Philippines) and several places.
We are figuring out tie-ups with exhibitors and OTT platforms. Apart from Bihar, we want to dub and release in every prominent language in India, since it has a universal flavour of philosophy and storytelling, producer Mishra, who hails from Bihar’s Sahara’s district, said.
“Bachchan Sir promoted the film through all his social media networks. It was so exhilarating and overwhelming for the entire crew,” he said. Manoj Bajpai, Remo D’souza,and several others promoted the film on social media.