Friday’s Bhojpuri release, Aurat Khilona Nahin, starring Manoj Tiwari, received a cold response.

The movie of the MP from North-East Delhi parliamentary constituency has been released in 40 theatres across the state, except Patna. Directed by Aslam Sheikh and produced by Avinash Rohra and Mohammad Aslam, the film is based on crime against women.

After watching a show of the film at Madhav theatre in Motihari, resident of Jaunpul Chowk Suresh Kumar said: “The film was not good and there were very few people inside the theatre. I thought it would be fun watching Manoj Tiwari after a long time on screen, but he has not lived up to the expectation of his fans.”

His fans complain that ever since he became an MP, he is concentrating more on politics and ignoring films. Earlier, before the release he would visit Patna and states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to promote the films. Before his latest release, Tiwari was busy in poll campaigning in Jharkhand.

Jai Mangal Deo, the president of Cine Society Patna, said: “We have examples of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna, who left politics with bitter experiences and never to return. Once an actor becomes a politician, it becomes difficult to divide time between politics and films.”

Originally a singer, Tiwari has lent his voice for more than 210 Bhojpuri albums and worked in over 112 Bhojpuri films. He started his career as Bhojpuri singer in 1997. In 2005, Tiwari got his acting break in Sasura Bada Paisawala.

On the first day of the release, the 2-hour-25-minute film, mostly shot in Buxar and Hajipur, has managed to earn Rs 2.5 lakh in 150 shows across the state.

Shatrughan Sinha, the BJP Patna Sahib MP, had acted in two films after becoming an MP, Aan: Met at Work and Rakta Charitra. Both the films bombed.

Tiwari’s stint in politics is not new. In 2009 Lok Sabha election, he contested on Samajwadi Party ticket from Gorakhpur constituency but lost it.

Uday Bhagat, the public relations officer of the film, who has come from Mumbai to monitor the screening and its business, said: “Manojji is busy in Jharkhand but he will come to Patna in the next three to four days to promote the film. The film has a lot of potential and will surely do better in the coming days.”