Bollywood stars who ventured into Bhojpuri cinema

Over the last decade or so, the popularity of Bhojpuri cinema has been increasing year after year. Earlier, Bhojpuri films used to release only in Uttar Pradesh and the North Indian belt. But now with increasing popularity, they are gaining screens in all over the country. After gaining fame in Bollywood, many actors have tried a hand in Bhojpuri cinema.

Bollywood superstar Dharmendra has worked in many movies and has also managed to work in the immensely popular Bhojpuri movie 'Desh Pardesh'. The film presents us two different ideologies of today’s youth. A child who comes from abroad ditches his parents, Dharmandra and Rati Agnihotri and goes to stay with his wife’s family, while a servant who grew up in the house takes care of his masters. The film is directed by Vimal Kumar and featured Pawan Singh, Dharmendra and Monalisa as lead characters. After Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra is the third hero with highest grossing films to his name in Hindi film industry to have ventured into Bhojpuri cinema.

Mithun played the lead role in Bhojpuri movie 'Bhole Shankar' along with Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari. The film took the highest opening for a Bhojpuri film and is considered as the biggest Bhojpuri hit. It was Mithun Chakraborty's first Bhojpuri film. The film's story is based on the issue of unemployment where Mithun plays the role of Shankar, an underworld don and the older brother of Bhole, played by Manoj Tiwari.

Popular Bollywood actor-writer Kader Khan worked with Dharmendra in Bhojpuri movie 'Desh Pradesh'. It was directed by Vimal Kumar with famous Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh and Monalisa. Khan has acted in over 300 films and has written dialogues for over 250 Indian films. Before starting his acting career, he was a professor of civil engineering.

Bhumika Chawla has worked in the Bhojpuri family drama 'Gangotri Ganga-2' with Amitabh Bachchan. The film was based on a father who forced his daughter to get married to a person to help sustain their status. She made her film debut in the Telugu film ‘Yuvakudu’ in 2000 and is mainly popular for her role in Bollywood blockbuster film ‘Tere Naam’ opposite Salman Khan.