Sanjay Jha Mastan shoots a portion of his documentary with Ajay Brahamatamaj, the co-founder of the Foundation of Media, Culture and Cinema Awareness. Telegraph picture

Patna, March 4: Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo may not be as famous as The Sound of Music but for connoisseurs of Bhojpuri culture, the film is a cultural milestone.

Reason: The Bhojpuri film industry — that recently completed 50 years — started with Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo and is showing no signs of slowing down. Rather, it is growing each day with more and more films that are now attracting a global audience.

“The main idea was to bring the educated middle class into the fold of Bhojpuri cinema. They need to make films that will cater to all sections of the society and also be artistically satisfying,” said Ajay Brahamatamaj, the co-founder of the Foundation of Media, Culture and Cinema Awareness.

He added: “There is a misconception that most of the Bhojpuri films are vulgar. Even Amitabh Bachchan acted in a Bhojpuri film, Ganga.”

The recently concluded Bhojpuri film festival was attended by stars such as Kunal Singh, Manoj Tiwari, Ravi Kissen, Bharat Sharma Vyaas and Girija Devi. Artistes like Pandit Chunnilal Mishra, Sharda Sinha, Vijaya Bharti and Bholanath Mishra performed at the three-day festival. A debate on the history of Bhojpuri cinema was also organised.

Young filmmaker Sanjay Jha Mastan, a native of Sultanganj, attended the festival to shoot a documentary on Bhojpuri film industry and its chequered history.

“A lot need to be done for Bhojpuri films. People are still ignorant about their own culture. But since I hail from Bihar, I feel it is the right time for me to do my research and make my documentary,” said Jha, a product of National School of Drama, Delhi.

The director of films like Pran Jaye Par Shan Na Jaye and Strings — Bound by Faith wants to settle in the state and do theatre. “But the lack of proper opportunities here has forced me to work in Mumbai, where I have been an assistant director in films like Mission Kashmir, Khamoshi and Kacche Dhage,” said Jha.

His 90-minute documentary deals with issues such as the lack of research material and documentaries on Bhojpuri films. His aim is to present Bhojpuri culture to residents of the state who have migrated to different parts of the world.

In fact the Bhojpuri diaspora — about 90 million settled across the world — is the real hope for the film industry said an expert from the industry.