New Delhi (India), June 27: Dr Vivek Bindra opened this episode of The Bada Bharat Show with a huge introduction of this week’s guest. He is one whose hat might not have space left for any more feathers. He has been a renowned singer, actor, film music director, a TV presenter, and is now a politician, in fact, a Member of Parliament from North East Delhi since 2014. We are talking about Shri Manoj Tiwari.
Social Awareness Songs and Government Impact
Dr Bindra started the questions round by asking Sh. Tiwari how several of his social awareness songs, both new and old, have resulted in the acknowledgements from the government and rules and laws being made around them. The list of songs with some of the predictions included one on cleaning of river Ganga, saving the girl child, the VIP culture in the ministers, and female feticide etc. Sh. Tiwari said that he had only been raising the issues with the present and past governments through whatever ways he knew. Implementing a law was not his job, and it was up to the respective governments to do so.
Sarcasm in Political Comments and Self-Perception
Dr Bindra then asked him about why many of his comments are full of sarcasm about people, more often than not about those from rival political parties like Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi etc.; this despite him naming himself as Mridul Manoj. The MP replied by saying that those were positive comments meant to be in good taste and that he is indeed a soft-hearted person.
Denial of Slapping Incident and Relationship with Police Officer
On another incident about him slapping a police officer when they stopped him from attending a bridge inauguration ceremony, Mr. Tiwari denied it all as being fabricated and fake news and said that the cop, who is now a CBI officer, is still in touch with him.
Controversy Over Singing Requests and Politicians Singing
Praising his melodious voice, Dr Bindra asked why he scolded a female teacher when she asked him to sing a few lines during one of the inauguration ceremonies. “A politician singing is not something new; many other politicians sing too, including Mr. Babul Supriyo and Sh. Arjun Ram Meghwal, who is the current Law Minister,” Dr Bindra asked.
Mr. Tiwari said that since it was an inauguration ceremony of a CCTV facility, they should have waited for the same before asking him to sing. However, it was not as big an issue as the media portrayed it to be.
Sh. Manoj Tiwari was kind enough to even sing a few lines of his famous song, ‘Jiya Ho Bihar Ke Lalla,’ when Dr Bindra requested him.
Apology for Breaking Traffic Laws and Explanation
Dr Bindra went ahead and asked him how and why did he break the law, despite being a Legislature himself, on a few occasions, like not wearing a helmet while riding a bike and a seat belt while driving a car. Sh. Tiwari immediately apologized for those incidents and added that the seatbelt issue was shot by someone when he had just sat in the driver’s seat. He did wear it a little later after the car started to move.
Relationship with Co-Actor Ravi Kishan and Political Support
Commenting on his egregious relationship with his co-actor and famous actor Ravi Kishan, Mr. Tiwari said that the relationship is sweet and courteous since Mr. Ravi is a senior actor, and he himself helped Mr. Kishan get inducted into the ruling party, and become an MP.
Comments on Nasiruddin Shah and Film Biases
When asked about his comments on other people and films from the same fraternity, like Mr. Nasiruddin Shah and a song from the film Pathaan, Mr. Tiwari said that he still stands on his reply to Mr. Shah’s comment on the movie The Kerala Story. ‘Nasiruddin Shah ji, you might be a great actor, but your intentions are evident by this comment,’ he claims to have replied. Mr. Tiwari also raised the issue of Mr. Nasiruddin Shah not earlier commenting about various films made that were biased against Hindus and the Thakur community.
Derogatory Culture in Bhojpuri Film Industry and Proposed Solution
Dr Bindra then asked Mr. Tiwari’s suggestions and comments about the derogatory kind of songs and culture still prevalent in the Bhojpuri film industry. The latter replied by saying that there are hundreds of good Bhojpuri songs too. However, he would suggest having a local censorship board for the Bhojpuri film industry that would take strict actions against those who make such derogatory cinema.
Rapid Fire Round: Controversial Questions and Answers
Then came the rapid-fire round, where Dr Bindra asked a few controversial questions to Mr. Tiwari, all in good humor. When asked to choose the better actor between himself and Ravi Kishan, Mr. Tiwari immediately chose Ravi Kishan.
Who does he think he is best at, being an actor or singer, or a politician, was the next question put to him, to which Mr. Tiwari replied saying that he was best at singing. “I am proud of each and every song I have sung so far,” he added.
“Politicians might be dirty, never the politics,” Mr. Tiwari replied when asked about what is the best thing about politics. “Shri Narendra Modi is my favorite politician to date and my biggest inspiration in politics,” he replied.
When asked to describe himself in one word, Mr. Tiwari said that he is an extremely patient man. Dr Bindra then asked him about the biggest achievement of the BJP government in the last nine years. Mr. Tiwari replied by saying that it was building toilets in around 12 crore homes in the country.
“Cleaning Delhi’s river Yamuna and having tourist ships like those in the Thames river there is my target for the next five years,” M. Tiwari replied when asked.
Conclusion: Praise for Honesty and Fairness
Dr Bindra pulled the curtains on the episode by praising Mr. Tiwari for honestly answering all the questions and being absolutely and outrightly fair
