“Bidesia in Bambai” is a story of music, migration and mobile phones. Ah, that sounds interesting – the title and its description. And what a gorgeous poster too. Not sure what exactly i was googling when i landed up on this blog. Just found out on Film Divison’s FB page that the first trailer of the film is out. Have a look.
For a better view, you can go directly to its vimeo page here.
Here’s more on the film (from the director’s blog) – Migration is the predominant theme in the music, and the phone is a recurring motif. Mobile phones are also used to circulate the music. And it’s the only way to stay connected to the mothers and wives back home in the village. This film follows two singers in Mumbai who occupy extreme ends of the migrant worker’s vibrant music scene, a taxi-driver chasing his first record deal and Kalpana, the star of the industry.
Film details – 86 minutes/2013/ Bhojpuri and Hindi/ with English subtitles/ INDIA
Screening – The film will have a screening in Mumbai on 20th July. You can follow the FD FB page for venue and other details. Hopefully they will update later on.
If you want to know more about the film, copy/pasting her latest post from the filmmaker’s blog –
Bidesia is Bhojpuri for ‘the one who leaves home’. One in four migrants in Mumbai is Bhojpuria, a people from the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Bambai is their name for Mumbai/Bombay.
The bidesia in Bambai, like most recent migrants in this ‘global city’, inhabit the precarious edges of Mumbai. Along with his meagre belongings though, the impoverished migrant brings with him a vibrant musical culture.
Bhojpuri pop music is produced, circulated and performed in the crumbling sites that is home to the bidesia in the big city. Migration is the predominant theme in the music, and the mobile phone is a recurring motif in the songs. Frequently sexually charged, at times religious, often lyrical and occasionally political, the migrant is both the subject of, and the audience for this music. The musical landscape he inhabits mobilises notions of masculinity; gives form to his identity; makes tangible his desire for a place in the city; and evokes his longing for home.
This feature-length film attempts to make the migrant visible by celebrating the musical sphere that he inhabits, in a city that renders him illegal and unwanted.
– Click here to go to Surabhi Sharma’s blog.
Poster/Trailer courtsey – Surabhi’s blog.
F.i.g.h.t C.l.u.b 
Bidesia is also a form of song. A way of singing and songwriting .
Bidesia as a music form is derived from migration only. A Bidesia song is about the pain or loss of migration only, and typically sung by the ones left behind.
In an unused, incomplete song of GoW, we had tried to incorporate the 3 distinct words and their connotations – Bidesiya (the one who goes to never return), Pardesiya (the one who goes but keeps connections with motherland intact), and Batohiya (the one who has gone for a short-term and will be back soon).
Since Batohiya and Pardesiya are the definitions with lesser pain attached to them, these words have been used much more in Hindi film songs. Bidesiya is a bitter-sad word (and hence music form). Almost like a traitor.
Can “Soona Kar ke Gharwa jabse” be called as a Bidesia?
It is Bidesia. Totally.
in this song there were lots of mistakes specially gender and all , BTW it can be pardeshi or bideshi. Bhikhari thakur mostly refer bideshiya for those who went out side region for work but womens in home use to say pardeshi which you can see in several kajari , jatnsar , barahamasa and other tradional bhojpuri songs.
O Bidesia, O O Bidesia! Yeh kyun nahi daala fir Womaniya ki jagah!
Varun, I think,
बिदेसिया – migrant worker (he is in foreign land and almost forgotten about his family at home esp. his wife. He is expected to come back on regular interval by his family. Most of bidesiya song expresses possible reason for not coming back for a long time.)
परदेशिया – a foreigner ( a person who has come from a foreign land and most likely to go back to his original place one day)
बटोही/बटोहिया – traveller or passer by (he is just passing through the place where any conversation is taking place.
रंगनाथ बाबू, हिंदी के हिसाब से आप एकदम सही हैं. लेकिन ‘बिदेसिया’ के इतिहास और origin के हिसाब से जहां तक मेरी जानकारी है आपकी definitions थोड़ी सी off हैं. एक लम्बा रिसर्च पेपर पढ़ा था २ साल पहले उसी से याद है. ढूँढता हूँ, अगर मिले तो शेयर करूंगा.
अपना तो सारा हिसाब-किताब हिन्दी का ही है 🙂
वैसे, मैं अपने स्तर पर भी जानने की कोशिश करूँगा.
रंगनाथजी से पूरी तरह सहमत,….. हिंदी, भोजपुरी और भिखारी ठाकुर तीनो के हिसाब से
check this film called Lucia http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pgIL2H-OdcA
I do hope you can come for the screening at FDzone, Films Division on 20th at 4pm. Would be great to hear all your responses to my film. This film follows from a film I made in 2007 -Jahaji Music, about a journey through the music of Jamaica and Trinidad. I started off looking at Bhikhari Thakur’s songs in his play, Bidesia, but the film has moved away from an exploration of the text, the different genres of music. The film stays with the presence of these genres in Mumbai/Bambai.
Terrific poster design.
‘Bidesiya’ presently is more popular as a theater form, now part of curriculum of NSD. All started with a play named ‘Bidesiya’ which was written, performed, directed (you may say) by Bhikari Thakur. It was a musical full of song and dance sequence majorly catering to migratory labourers working away from Bihar. Its success gave birth to a theater form, song genre, folk form etc, which were all inspired from the play. Hence forth they all are knows as ‘Bidesiya’ after the name of the play. Later Bidesiya as well became a movement because Bhikari thakur was a barber (hajam by caste) and subtly he used to web the plight of social evils in his play. Later Bidesiya was made into feature film and inspired many stories for screen in Bhojpuri and hindi.
So bidesiya can be said as folk form of Bihar & northern UP. The lyrics mainly in Bidesiya are of ‘Virah’ and compositions are traditional (meaning either composed by Bhikari Thakur or inspired from geets generations before him). .
bideshiya ek shaili hai……pida hai trasadi jo us waqt ke zamaney mei hua karta tha…jab ek gaon ki patni ke hotey huye pardesh kamaney ke chakkar mei sehar mei dusri patni banakar uskey sath jivan yapan karna……….ye ek viyog tha gaon ki patni ka pida thi aur ye ek trasadi v………..BIDESIYA….natak us waqt gaon gaon mei ghumkar swargiye bhikhari thakur ji kiya kartey they aur ies pida ko jan jan tak pahochatey they………ismey wo har mahiney ki pida ya pal pal us aurat ki taklifey bakhubi unhoney wyaqt kiya………..ek ganey ke char line ankit karna chahunga…..
gaon ki patni pati viyog mei kya gati hai…….
piya mor gaielan pardesh ye batohi bhaiya
raat nahi neendey din bitey na chayanwa….
saha tani bahutey kalesh ye batohi bhaiya
raat nahi bitey din bitey na chayanwa…………
batohi wo tha jo us waqt chiththi ko sehro tak pahochaney ka kaam karta tha……..jo gaon se bahar kamaney janeywaley called bidesiya………….
Sounds very good. Will love to get full version. When will be it available.
मन हमार परदेश जाये के करता अभी भारी,
जल्दी से तैयार कर तू रास्ता के बट्सारी.
फिरती बार तोहरे पहिरन हिना ,
किनब बंगला साड़ी,
प्यारी मोर तू खुश रहा ,मत कर सोच हमारी.
This is also “Bidesia”…