Nitish Ji, why don’t you ban vulgar Bhojpuri films and albums instead of Padmavati? 

As protests against Padmavati gather steam across India, Bihar has also joined the list of states banning the theatrical release of the film, following Rajasthan, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday ordered a ban on Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati in the state. The Chief Minister ordered concerned officials to ban the release after BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Bablu demanded it in a letter.

After Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was the fifth Chief Minister who on Tuesday ordered to ban the release of Padmavati.

It is ironical that the Bihar chief minister never paid any attention to all those Bhojpuri films who are demeaning to women and are filled with humiliating double meaning dialogues.

Bhojpuri films like Pepsi Peeke Lagelu Sexy, Laila Maal Ba- Chalia Dhamaal Ba, Lehanga Mein Baadh Aail Ba, Jeans Wali Bhauji have failed to prick the consciousness of BJP MLA Neeraj Kumar Bablu and CM Nitish Kumar. In Bihar, adult Bhojpuri films and albums are released without any interference.

The ‘brave’ Rajputs of the country have made a princess of yore a matter of asmita (honour) whose actual existence in history is doubtful. "You see, this is a matter concerning our asmita honour, we can't let anyone besmirch our honour," Karni Sena spokesperson Vijendra Singh Kalyanvat reportedly told Al Jazeera.

However, this is surprising that no Rajput organisations (or any other organisation) have ever opposed a film in which a woman has not been considered more than 'sex object'.

No arrests or any sort of legal action have been taken on indecent portrayal of women in Bhojpuri films.

According to an RTI reply, it was revealed that of the total 256 films that were denied certification by the Central Board of Film Certification Between 2001 and 2011, 78 were Hindi films and 52 were English.

“Bhojpuri is a sweet language but the culture spread by films and cassettes is so crude and vulgar, that someone has to stop it”, Satyakam Anand of Bhojpur told HT

Anand feels, the way the language has been presented to the world forces people from Bihar to hang their heads in shame outside, because the representations are ascribed to this region and held in ridicule.

History of Bhojpuri films

However, Bhojpuri film had a very different beginning, before turning into ‘soft porn’ it was ‘family friendly’. In the 1960s, the first president of India, Rajendra Prasad, who hailed from Bihar, met Bollywood Actor Nazir Hussain and asked him to make a movie in Bhojpuri, which eventually led to first Bhojpuri film's release in 1963.

Bhojpuri cinema history begins with the well-received film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo ("Mother Ganges, I will offer you a yellow sari").

Throughout the following decades, films were produced in fits and starts. Bidesiya and Ganga were profitable and popular, but in general Bhojpuri films were not commonly produced in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the 1980s, enough Bhojpuri films were produced to tentatively make up an industry. Films such as Mai ("Mom", 1989, directed by Rajkumar Sharma) and Hamar Bhauji continued to have at least sporadic success at the box office. Nadiya Ke Paar is a 1982 Hindi-Bhojpuri blockbuster directed by Govind Moonis and starring Sachin, Sadhana Singh, Inder Thakur, Mitali, Savita Bajaj, Sheela David, Leela Mishra and Soni Rathod. However, this trend faded out by the end of the decade. By 1990, the nascent industry seemed to be completely finished.

After 90’s commercialization of Bhojpuri cinema led shifting away from family entertainment. Bhojpuri filmmakers moved away from targeting family audiences to the working class, with stories centered on truck drivers, labourers, rickshaw pullers and coolies. Bhojpuri films started featuring double-meaning dialogues, senseless scripts, action and loud music. In 2004, Sasura Bada Paisawala was released. The film, which starred singer-turned-actor and now politician Manoj Tiwari, featured cheesy song lyrics and item numbers. Sasura Bada Paisawala opens floodgates for crass Bhojpuri cinema.