Panditji Bataye Na Byah Kab Hoye?

Bhojpuri films are in vogue these days. Staying in south delhi, where you need to cough up Rs 150 each time you want to catch a fillum, I hadn't quite realised that. Today, I had to go to Shahdara. And as always happens with my trips to east Delhi, I was transported to another world. Where there is an entire township underneath the two-kilometre flyover over the railway line. People live here, use punctured tyre tubes as swings, sit and sell khaini (tobacco) and then go and watch Bhojpuri movies in the evening. The world is a flat place, yes, and nowhere is it more obvious than in the complete Biharisation of the world. So most of the people living in Shahdara sport an accent straight from Laloo-land.
Anyway, as I was trudging along in that two-hour marathon auto journey, I came across some interesting film posters. Daroga babu, I love you was one of them (for the uninitiated, daroga refers to a cop). Another gem: Panditji bataye na byah kab hoi. The latter had Naghma, she of Saurav Ganguly fame, as one of the lead actors. Ravi Kisshen, who flopped miserably in Hindi films, is apparently minting money in Bhojpuri cinema and is the lead actor in Panditji...
On returning to office, I happened top go through the latest issue of Outlook. A story on Bhojpuri in the magazine made me feel as if Bollywood will soon be rechristened Bhojpuriwood. Aby's baby is acting in one. So is Hema Malini. Dileep Kumar is producing one. AB himself will do a guest appearance in another.
Remember how Sujit Kuamr, that flop Hindi film actor found his calling in Bhojpuri cinema? After having been the butt of hundreds of jokes all these years, perhaps, he will sit back now and have the last laugh.