Manoj Tiwari during one of his stage performances in Patna. Telegraph picture

Patna, June 15: He might have failed to win the Big Boss booty in the fourth season, but the time Bhojpuri actor and singer Manoj Tiwari spent on the show has made him popular even in Pakistan.

If Lalu Prasad was the one to boast of good relations with the neighbouring country, now it is the turn of the actor to flaunt the range of his fan followers.

Tiwari said he started getting a “good response” from the audience in Pakistan after his “candid time” with Pakistani actress Veena Malik.

“After I came out of the Big Boss house, I was interviewed by two Pakistani news channels and they wanted me to comment on Veena. I gave them my opinion and after that I started getting a lot of mails from the people of that country,” Manoj said.

“The Pakistani audience started supporting my views. On the request of the anchor, I sang the song Bagal Wari Jaan Mari Li. The song became popular and I was asked to sing Bhojpuri songs twice later. Probably these things played a key role after which I became popular in our neighbouring countr,” he said.

Tiwari has also received recognition from the government in The Netherlands which issued a postal stamp worth 44 Euro cent in his name in 2008.

His was the first postal stamp of Holland to be issued in the name of a foreigner in that year. “I feel the postal stamp had a lot to do with my fame as well as the popularity of Bhojpuri among the Indians in Surinam and The Netherlands,” Manoj said.

Manoj said every person from Bihar should be proud of the fact that the regional language is getting international acceptance.

“Yes, Manoj Tiwari’s CDs and albums are selling in several parts of Pakistan, including Peshawar and Islamabad, and the border areas. There are around eight lakh people in the country who speak Bhojpuri,” a resident of Karachi told The Telegraph. He added that Manoj’s popularity increased after the fourth season of the Big Boss show, which is very popular among Pakistani viewers.

Tiwari said he is proud of his work as it is helping in promotion of Bhojpuri language.

“I keep visiting several countries but never got an opportunity to visit Pakistan. After all this support, I am going to visit the country soon. In fact, Sania Mirza’s husband Shoaib Mallik is a good friend of mine and he has aksed me to visit Pakistan several times. He had said my songs are quite popular in Pakistan. I have received thousands of mails from my fans in Pakistan and they said that they are waiting to see me perform in the country,” Manoj said.

Pakistan’s famous anchor Begam Nawazish spoke to The Telegraph from Karachi and said Manoj is becoming really popular in Pakistan and the people of the country love his songs.

“Manoj’s popularity will certainly help Bhojpuri as a language in the country. Manoj had tried teaching me Bhojpuri songs,” she said, adding that she was quite impressed with the Bhojpuri star during the fourth season of Big Boss.