FOLK ARTISTES of Chhattisgarh on Monday decided to step up pressure on Aamir Khan, who has produced Peepli Live, a satirical Hindi flick focusing on rural poverty, to bail out the family of celebrated folk singer and writer, late Gangaram Siwar, one of whose popular songs features in the movie set for August 13 release. Siwar’s family has been reeling under abject poverty since his death in 1982.
The Chhattisgarh Folk Artistes’ Association has chosen noted Gandhian Gautam Bandhopadhya as their representative to negotiate with Mr Khan. The Association wants the Bollywood actor to hand over the royalty earned from the song Chola Mati Ke Ram written by Siwar in 1978 to his family. The song is one of the hit numbers of the film which has been in news for some time.
“Our representative Gautam Bandopadhya, a leader of Gandhi Bichar Manch, was scheduled to meet Mr Khan in Mumbai on Saturday but the meeting was deferred for unknown reasons. We hope Mr Khan will consider our demand on humanitarian grounds,” Rama Joshi, a well-known folk artiste of Chhattisgarh and disciple of the late folk singer told this newspaper.
“The folk song Chola Mati Ke Ram.. is very popular in Chhattisgarh and is still aired by the local Air India Radio (AIR). The culture buffs of the state are deeply hurt that the song has been incorporated in the film without taking the family members of late Siwar into confidence,” Ms Joshi, 54, said.
“Late Siwar’s son, Gangaram, is a daily wage earner and is unable to arrange two square meals a day. The filmmaker should give some financial assistance to him in recognition of the work of our guru. This will be a fitting tribute to the late artiste who contributed immensely to the folk art of the country,” she added.
Late Siwar was born in Taliband on the outskirts of Raipur in 1930. He penned scores of popular folk songs delving into the rural life of Chhattisgarh. He also worked as a folk singer for AIR for nearly four decades.