Jha to take on reel life villain

Manoj Chaurasia
PATNA, March 17: For many years, Sadhu Yadav’s “notoriety” had inspired filmmaker Prakash Jha to create negative characters in his films and show the world why Bihar is called a “lawless” state. He was presented as “villains” in his films Gangajal, Shool and Apaharan. Those watching him on the silver screen shouted him down when he spoke up and rejoiced when he was beaten up by heroes. It’s sheer coincidence, though, that the two of them will be confronting each other in real life!
This sounds peculiar but it is what exactly reflects the election scene in the West Champaran parliamentary constituency in Bihar after two political rivals Mr Lalu Prasad and Mr Ram Vilas Paswan shook hands today and announced their decision to contest the coming polls together.
After being denied a ticket by the RJD, a revolting Mr Anirudh Prasad alias Sadhu Yadav ~ one of the three notorious brothers-in-law of RJD chief Mr Lalu Prasad and sitting party MP from Gopalganj ~ has announced his decision to contest as an Independent candidate from West Champaran LS seat. Notably, the LJP has decided to field filmmaker Prakash Jha from this seat which has now been allotted to the LJP under the seat-sharing agreement reached between the two parties.
The RJD chief, as per reports, had become estranged from his salas soon after the last Bihar Assembly polls that dethroned the 15-year-old Rabri Devi government, and was just waiting for an opportune moment to get rid of them. The delimitation exercise by the Election Commission proved to be a blessing in disguise. Gopalganj, which was a general seat in the last Lok Sabha polls, was declared reserved for SC/ST after delimitation, thus driving the sitting RJD MP out of his home. Reports said he was exerting pressure on Mr Prasad, his jijaji (brother-in-law), for a ticket for neighbouring West Champaran or East Champaran seats but was ignored.
“So what if I am denied the party ticket? I will contest as an Independent candidate from West Champaran and defeat Prakash Jha. He does not have a base,” a fuming Sadhu said today adding, “Relationships do not matter in politics”. He alleged that the UPA was backing a man who defamed him through his film Gangajal and the RJD through another movie Apaharan. “He (Jha) was also involved in a land row for which the RJD protested on the streets but the UPA is still supporting him”, he said and accused the LJP chief of selling the ticket.
Jha, who till recently was very close to chief minister Mr Nitish Kumar, became embroiled in a controversy after the state government allotted him lands at very cheap rates to construct chains of multiplexes and shopping malls across different towns of Bihar. Opposition parties strongly opposed the government’s move in Patna High Court which later quashed the allotment of lands.
Significantly, they are not on the best of terms and their supporters fought on the streets in the past. In 2003 when Jha made Gangajal based on the Bhagalpur blinding incidents, Sadhu Yadav’s supporters ransacked local cinemas. They also protested when Jha came up with two other films depicting the criminal-political nexus as the root cause of Bihar’s ills. “They have a golden opportunity now to settle personal scores in the election arena”, quipped a senior politician.
In the last 2004 polls, the filmmaker had contested as an Independent candidate and polled a little over 25,000 votes, becoming a distant fifth. During the 2005 Assembly polls, he came close to the NDA and actively campaigned for it. He enjoyed a very good relation with the chief minister till recently and when Apaharan was released, the CM went to a local cinema to watch the premiere. He was hopeful of getting an NDA ticket but failed to get any response. Now the filmmaker will encounter the “reel-life villain” in real life.

Source : Statesman