Manoj Tiwari

Not to be confused with Manoj Tiwary.
Manoj Tiwari
Member of the India Parliament
for North East Delhi
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 May 2014
Preceded by J. P. Agarwal
Personal details
Born 1 February 1971
Atarwalia, Bihar, India
Political party Bharatiya Janata party
Spouse(s) Rani Tiwari (m. 1999–2012;divorced)
Children One daughter[1]
Occupation Actor, singer, director, television presenter, politician

Manoj Tiwari (born 1 February 1971)[1] is a singer, actor, television presenter and music director from Bihar, India. He has acted in the Bhojpuri genre of the Indian film industry and in 2005 was reported to be one of the two leading male stars of that genre.

Tiwari is also involved in politics, having contested the 2009 national elections for the Samajwadi Party. He won the North East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) in the 2014 Indian general elections from BJP.

Early life

One of the six children of Chandra Deo Tiwari and Lalita Devi,[1] his birthplace is Atarwalia, a small village in Kaimur district of Bihar.[2]

Career

Prior to Tiwari's involvement in cinema, he had spent ten years working as a singer.[3]

In 2003, he took a role in the film 'Sasura Bada Paise Wala'. The BBC reported that the production costs of US$ 65,000 were turned into takings of US$ 3 million, while The Hindu reported a INR 3.5–4 billion cost resulting in takings of INR45 million (US$710,000). Indian Express reported a figure of INR65 million (US$1.0 million) as the takings. The Bihar Jharkhand Motion Picture Association saw this production as being a turning point for Bhojpuri cinema.[4][5] He followed this with the successful films Daroga Babu I Love You and Bandhan Toote Na.[3] Tiwari is reported to have said in 2005 that although the Bhojpuri genre had generally kept to its traditional storylines, "Gone are the double entendres, thin story lines and poor technical quality. Films have been slick and producers are willing to put in close to Rs 8 million in a film because the returns are not bad,"[3]

The BBC reported in 2005 that Tiwari and Ravi Kishan were the biggest male stars in the flourishing Bhojpuri cinema market and that Tiwari was able to charge US$ 90,000 per film.[4]

In 2010, Tiwari was a contestant in the fourth season of reality television show Bigg Boss.[6] He was reported by Rediff to say that his wife, Rani, "is angry with me" because she suspected him of having an affair with a fellow contestant, Shweta Tiwari, and that "Arbaaz Khan tweeted and asked people to vote for Ashmit [Patel]. I felt little bad about this because his brother is the host of the show and he is asking people to vote. I somehow didn't understand that angle." When asked whether he thought that the votes were manipulated, he said "I am bound by my contract so I can't comment on this. But it is little hard to believe that I got lesser votes than Ashmit. I guess viewers enjoy watching Veena Malik and Ashmit's fake romance. I really don't understand why the channel is still keeping them inside the house."[7] NDTV reported a similar story, adding that he had been separated from his wife and child for some months.[8] Tiwari had previously worked with Shweta Tiwari in two films, Kab Aibu Anganwa Hamaar and Ae Bahuji ke Sister. By mid-2011 he and his wife, were involved in divorce proceedings regarding their eleven-year marriage.[9]

Tiwari continues to record music and release new albums. He performs around the world in concert.[10] He released an album, Hey Mahadev, in 2009 that fused traditional music with contemporary genres.[11] He is listed as being music director for numerous releases.[12] Manoj Tiwari also sang the hit song "Jiya Ho Bihar Ke Lala Jiya Tu Haazar Sala" in Anurag Kashyap's film Gangs of Wasseypur.[13]

Politics

In 2009, Tiwari contested elections for the 15th Lok Sabha as a candidate for the Samajwadi Party in the Gorakhpur constituency. He had been offered a choice of three constituencies and Zeenews reported him as saying that he was not "a political person but was concerned for the development of Poorvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh." His interest was in developing that region and he had "submitted my development proposals to industrialist Anil Ambani".[14] He lost to Adityanath Yogi.[15]

His house in Mumbai was allegedly attacked in November 2009 by a group of people angry with remarks that they claimed he had made about Shiv Sena. Tiwari denied having made any comment on the matter, which revolved around a dispute between the Shiv Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, and the Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.[16]

In January 2011 Mid-Day reported that the BJP might invite him to join their party and that the association with him would assist their electoral efforts among North Indians. Tiwari dismissed the story as being hypothetical, although he would consider his options should an invitation emerge. He had been seen with BJP leaders at an event and had expressed admiration for Shatrughan Sinha, the BJP MP for Patna.[17]

Tiwari was among the first celebrities to make an appearance in support of Ramdev's hunger strike at the Ramlila Ground protests on 4 June 2011. He sang various patriotic songs to the gathered protestors and claimed that he had ceased filming for a month in order to join the protest.[18] In August of that year he was involved in protests surrounding the arrest of Anna Hazare, of whose popular anti-corruption movement he approved.[19]

He won the North East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) in the 2014 Indian general elections from BJP

Support for cricket

Tiwari is a keen supporter of cricket and played for Banaras Hindu University. He has tried to buy the franchise for an Indian Premier League team in order to boost the sport in his home region and is also involved with Kirti Azad's Association of Bihar Cricket, a body that is campaigning to be recognised by the BCCI as the official organisation for Bihar cricket.[20]

He has also announced that he would built a temple dedicated to 2011 Cricket World Cup winning team in his home village.[20] He also plans to construct a world class cricket stadium in his home town, in Kaimur district.[21]

Selected filmography

Director

Film Language Year
Hello Darling Hindi 2010

Television

Programme Role
Bigg Boss 4 (2010) Himself
Sur Sangram (season 1 & 2) Host[11]
Nehle Pe Dehla Host
Bharat Ki Shaan: Singing Star (Season 2) Host
Welcome - Baazi Mehmaan-Nawaazi ki(2013) Himself

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Biography". Manoj Tiwari Official Website. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  2. ↑ "Actor Manoj Tiwari to build temple for Tendulkar and Dhoni". Screen India (Indian Express). 8 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Raman, Anuradha (5 June 2005). "Bollywood's trying to read Bhojpuri". Indian Express. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tewary, Amarnath (15 December 2005). "Move over Bollywood, here's Bhojpuri". BBC. Retrieved 2012-01-04.
  5. ↑ "Bhojpuri cinema edges its way to success". The Hindu. IANS. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  6. ↑ "Exclusive: Meet the Bigg Boss 4 contestants". Rediff. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  7. ↑ "I lost interest in Bigg Boss after it became dirty". Rediff. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  8. ↑ "I am not involved with Shweta: Manoj Tiwari". NDTV. Indo-Asian News Service. 4 December 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  9. ↑ Jha, Giridhar (11 July 2011). "Manoj Tiwari appeals for help to persuade wife to drop divorce plan". India Today. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  10. ↑ Sarita Boodhoo (14 November 2009). "Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari of "Chak De Bacche" TV show fame captivates his audience". Mauritius Times. Retrieved 10 December 2009.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "I am just doing my duty: Manoj Tiwari". Bhojpuria. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  12. ↑ "Albums with "Manoj Tiwari Mridul" as music director". SmashHits. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  13. ↑ Manoj Tewari croons for Anurag Kashyap
  14. ↑ "Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari to contest LS polls from Gorakhpur". Zeenews. 7 January 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  15. ↑ "Manoj Tiwari,Samajwadi party, Gorakhpur, UP, Key Contenders for India Election 2009".
  16. ↑ "Manoj Tiwari's residence attacked in Mumbai". The Times of India. PTI. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  17. ↑ Singh, Varun (29 January 2011). "Manoj Tiwari sees saffron". Mid-Day. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  18. ↑ "Bhojpuri superstar Manoj Tiwari joins Ramdev's campaign against black money". The Hindu Business Line. PTI. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  19. ↑ Jha, Giridhar (16 August 2011). "Bhojpuri film stars rally round Anna; Nitish decries arrest as 'rehearsal of Emergency'". India Today.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Jha, Giridhar (11 April 2011). "Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari plans temple for Team India". India Today. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  21. ↑ "Manoj Tiwari to build International Cricket Stadium at Kaimur". Biharprabha. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-05.

External links