Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra was in the State capital to promote her new Hindi movie ‘Once upon a time in Bihar’. The movie focuses on the vital issue of migration, distinction and challenges faced by the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in other states especially in metropolitan cities.
Addressing people and giving details about the movie which released on October 30, Neetu Chandra said, “The entire movie shooting is done in Bihar. We have worked for three years on the script to bring the real concept and portray the reality. The movie is made in two languages. The Bhojpuri version ‘Deshwa’ was selected for the 16 International Film Festival.”
Citing details about the problems faced in making the movie, Chandra further added, “In my personnel opinion as the natives of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand we do face difficulties. People in metropolitan treat us like farmers and villagers. They have a very saturated image of people hailing from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Since the movie is based on the true incidents, from the very beginning stage we had faced several challenges like finance and censorship issues. No big production house came forward and accepted the script.”
The movie does not involve any big star cast and have introduced several new faces in the movie. Few theatre artists of Bihar have also worked in the movie. Kranti Prakash Jha, one of the lead actor in the movie said, “I have done this movie for my personnel satisfaction as I too come from Begusarai district of Bihar but unfortunately I had to shift to Mumbai in search of job and as a result I do not have my name registered in the voter list of Bihar today, this clearly indicates the migration problem.”
So far the movie has been exempted from paying tax in Uttar Pradesh. The movie also hit the theatre in Ranchi.
“The movie was also released in Ranchi and shows were on at the Fun Cinemas but unfortunately within two days the movie was out from the theatre,” informed Chandra.
However, the actress is hopeful that the movie will do well and create an impact on viewers mind since the story is based on the true incident and highlights the plight of natives of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand living in metropolitan cities.