Agra: It is a rainy day in Taj Mahal city and Anand Kumar Ojha’s phone is ringing continuously. He should ease the traffic jam in a busy market and meet the superintendent of police to discuss the pending cases. In his perfectly ironed khaki uniform and spotless brown leather boots, Ojha, a traffic police inspector in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, prepares for the call of duty. But there are other calls he doesn’t miss – the calls from his film directors.
To fulfill his childhood dream of appearing on the big screen, Ojha took annual leave from his police job to act in Bhojpuri films. After making three main character films in a decade and three more films slated to release this year, Ojha’s horizons are expanding. Directors known to him through his Bhojpuri films have also given him roles in Hindi and Telugu cinema.
“Cinema is Anand’s first love,” says director Dheeraj Kumar, who gave Ojha his first break in a Bhojpuri film. the biggest criminal (2013) where he played the younger brother of lead actor Rahul Roy. Calm and composed in stressful situations at his job as a traffic cop, in the film, Ojha plays an angry young man who kills his own father to avenge his mother’s rape. In Kumbh Niwas (2022), she falls in love with a ghost, sings and dances with her in flashy outfits and single-handedly beats up the land mafia who want to break into the house where the ghost lives. In runny (2022), he is an army man who seeks revenge on the killers of his lover. Ojha’s colleagues also agree that his on-screen anger and hatred are the exact opposite of his charming personality.
She is now all set to debut in theaters with big stars beyond Bhojpuri.
He said, ‘I will launch him in my next big film. I am also in talks with a big OTT platform for a Hindi web series and Ojha will also be a part of it. He will be seen in a positive role that fits him,” says Kumar. The film will be announced this month and the web series will be announced a month later.
Ojha also caught sight of casting director and celebrity manager Mithilesh Tiwari, who is taking her to Tollywood. “Things are in the pipeline with a reputed production house which has already produced 15 to 20 films. Top 20 Telugu actors have worked under that banner. But I cannot disclose anything further at this point,” says Tiwari.
Posted in Agra in 2019, Ojha switches between grooving to passionate songs, romancing his co-stars and fighting baddies as a tough cop and an actor.
Ojha says his latest film Rann is on track to reshape the perception of Bhojpuri cinema with well-crafted action sequences, special effects and special make-up to suit each character. runnyIts success has ensured that Ojha too gets the attention of the audience.
But 45-year-old Exorcist, with his intense brown eyes and athletic body, is taking it slow. Although his calendar is full now, his success has not been easy. Also, his job as a cop allows him to shoot only two months in a year, and that’s when he prefers acting in Bhojpuri films.
“When I didn’t have anything working for me, this job came as a savior. I just can’t leave it. And I have a special love for Bhojpuri films. If I’ve committed, I’ll do my best.” I will not take back the promise,” says Ojha, recalling his days of struggle at his dilapidated government bungalow in Agra.
Ojha has signed four to five big Bhojpuri films this year, so Bollywood and Tollywood will have to wait till next year for the actors to see their charm.
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Conflict
Born in a farming family in Doghera village of Arrah, Bihar, Ojha and his friends used to save 25 and 50 paise as pocket money on a normal day. One Rupee was his ticket to the world of action, drama and romance, where a VCR in a small room would show him Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Rajinikanth, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna sacrificing their lives for their families. injustice and shaking feet with his romantic interests.
This image of a ‘hero’ settled in Ojha’s mind when he was just 10 years old.
“I always wanted people to like me in a positive way, and I thought being a hero was the only way to achieve that. It felt like the right profession,” says Ojha.
He fled to Mumbai twice. The first time was with a friend when he was in middle school and he had only seven rupees in his pocket. The second time, Ojha dropped out of class XI, and wrote a letter to his parents in full film style that he would return only after achieving something.
Ojha knew that his father Bhagwan, who insisted on completing his education, would never agree to send him to Mumbai.
“I had read Mayapuri Patrika (a Bollywood magazine in those days) was that Rajinikanth was a bus conductor yet a superstar. So, I was convinced that education is not necessary to become an actor,” says Ojha.
But success was not easy for the exorcist. In Mumbai, he took a night job as a security guard outside an under-construction building for Rs 800 a month. He used to go to the studio during the day. In four months, with no progress in fulfilling his dream, he became exhausted and depressed. He returned to his village to his father, completed school and applied for the UP Police vacancy.
Now, When, On Inauguration in Agra runny At Heera Talkies, as fans buzz around him for a selfie and cover his neck with a garland of marigolds, Ojha, in his black shirt and dark sunglasses, can’t stop smiling.
“I think if you really want something, then things work out for you,” he says.
Luck as well as his batchmates from his police training days feel that Ojha’s relentless dedication has brought him this far.
“At the Police Training Academy, while we used to waste our time after all the classes, Ojha used to attend dance classes,” says Ashutosh Kumar Singh, a sub-inspector of traffic police posted in Agra.
Ojha, who was a part of the security circle of the then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, is called ‘Hero’ Saab‘ by his comrades, used to go to the gym at 6 in the morning and report on duty after two hours. In the evening, after being freed, he would again go in for martial arts and dance practice.
Ojha got a chance to go to Mumbai again with the CM. That’s when she met Bhojpuri film director Nirmal Pandey, who immediately offered her a role. But as per luck, the film ran into a financial dispute and was never made. So was the fate of her second film with actor Ravi Kishan. Ojha spent 10 days in a hotel room and was dropped from the film, leaving him completely broken.
Although he was not able to appear on the big screen at that time, but he left a huge impression on the people. Now this is clearly visible in the current offers of Bollywood and Tollywood.
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childhood dreams
Despite the setbacks, Ojha’s resolve to be a hero never waned. Growing up, there was a chance to show off her dance moves at village weddings, and without telling her parents, she enrolled in trial music lessons. As a child, he used to read the Mayapur magazine, which his uncle brought from the city, and spent hours reading about the lives of Bollywood stars.
“I came to know through magazines that all the heroes live in Bombay. I didn’t know where Bombay was or how to get there, but I knew I had to be there,” says Ojha.
He shared his dream of becoming a movie star with 10 to 12 of his friends. To send him to Mumbai, everyone decided to chip in generously.
“There was hardly any pocket money in those days. So, we stole mangoes from our fields and sold them in markets to collect money for it,” says Ashok, his childhood friend who had fled Mumbai with him for the first time. However, due to hunger, both of them returned midway.
With 600 rupees and the only tourist-visible spot in the village, photographed outside the temple, they sent him to the city of dreams.
“He used to hum songs all the time. We would go to the fields and imitate Anand singer Kumar Sanu. At a time when there were no mobile phones or internet, he used to entertain us,” says Ashok.
Ojha used to roam the Natya Parishad of India, a now-defunct theater group, where teams from all over India come to perform. He watched their plays, served them tea, prepared the stage, and did other backend work. But his dream of becoming a hero was still alive.
reach new heights
Ojha takes out his phone to show the poster of his upcoming Bhojpuri film lover – His biggest till date, which will also be dubbed in Hindi. With the silhouette of an avatar-like figure standing tall against the light, it looks anything but a Bhojpuri movie poster with an element of suspense and superhero action.
cinema halls in Agra waiting to get screening rights runny As soon as it is pulled down from the diamond talkies. The filmmakers are in talks with the makers of Amazon Prime and lover Talking Netflix.
Says Ojha, “Mahi has more action. He said that the mask he is seen wearing in the poster was made in London.
But Ojha’s lifestyle is no different from that of his peers in the police. He is a serving policeman and cannot earn income from more than one source. He points out that his share of the budget of the film goes into its production, making the quality higher as compared to the low budget films.
“I am trying to make quality cinema so that I can take Bhojpuri cinema to the global level,” he says.
His friends and fans agree.
“There are not many artists with formal training in the Bhojpuri industry. But now that is changing and Ojha is one such actor who is on the path of change. Action was also missing in Bhojpuri films. But it has a bigger element in Ojha’s films,” said AK Shahi, SHO, Sikandra, Agra, who was also his batchmate.
Police sources say that Ojha will soon be promoted to the rank of deputy superintendent of police.
And in the film department, once he makes a mark, he will enter politics, laughs Shah. “All Bhojpuri actors have had this career trajectory,” he says.
(Edited by Likes)