Forced marriages have a pretty good success rate - Prakash Jais

Television has a tendency to give rise to unconventional stars. They may not posses the gorgeous looks of their Bollywood counterparts but they make up for it with their acting prowess. Bhojpuri actor Prakash Jais is largely unheralded but he’s earning praise for his fine performance as goon Raja bhaiya of Bhagyavidhata. The show deals on forced marriages in Bihar. He isn’t your typical television hero with chocolate looks and neither does he have girls chasing him. What this Bihari offers is hard-hitting, gory and real life tales. Hailing from Bhiar, Jais speaks on the illegal practice of forced marriages and the politics attached to it. He doesn’t shy away from talking of his personal experiences too. Read on to know about this intriguing personality. You’ve instilled fear among bachelors. Guys now worry of being kidnapped by Raja bhaiya. (Laughs) Yes that’s true. In fact, my friends often mock at me saying that Mr. X’s daughter isn’t married; go kidnap a boy for her. It’s like every mother will tell her bachelor son, “beta shaam se pehle ghar aaja, warna Raja bhaiya aajayega.” On a serious note, this is a practice still prevalent in Bihar. Parents in Bihar are always tense while their child gets married. There’s always fear that things could go awry. Is it just a coincidence that your character is named after a UP politician and history sheeter Raja Bhaiya? Well, it’s just that my character name is Raja, whose three sisters address him as bhaiya (brother). And, that’s how my character became Raja bhaiya. Besides, if you are the only son in a family of four children, then as a brother you have to be protective about your sisters. You need to be tough talking so that no crook messes with your sisters. Raja isn’t a bad human being and similarly I reckon that the real Raja bhaiya too must be a good hearted man. Have you observed real life goons and their mannerism so as to get into the skin of the role? Honestly speaking, no! You don’t enjoy that luxury on television as your character could change any moment. Besides, there is very little time for actors to work on their character. Well, Raja bhaiyya wasn’t supposed to be like that. In the beginning, Raja was shown as a simple boy who wanted to become a constable but because his father refused to pay a bribe, he was left jobless. That’s what drives such men to immoral activities. How rampant are such kidnappings in Bihar? Is it mainly confined to the poor and backward castes only? Such things generally occur in the rural areas but it’s prevalent in the city too. Recently, there was one such kidnapping in Patna that was reported by a news channel. And, it’s not restricted to lower castes only. It’s there even among the upper castes. At times, a daughter from the lower castes is married off to an upper cast groom. Things do get pretty ugly in inter- caste marriages. Actually, it’s a common practice in Bihar and you’ll be surprised to see that such forced marriages have a pretty good success rate. Forced marriages having success rates! Are you justifying such kidnappings? No, I’m not justifying such acts. After all, you’re toying with lives of two adults. But it needs to be told as to why such kidnappings are taking place. The root cause of this problem is dowry. Low sex ratio of women only compounds the problem. Poor families can’t marry their daughters as they can’t afford dowry. So, they aren’t left with any option but to get a groom kidnapped. After a while, they both accept each other. Prior to taking up this show, I encountered one such couple and when I asked that gentleman whether he’s happy with such a marriage, he replied, ‘if I’m not happy then I wouldn’t have three kids’. Look, I have two sisters too and though we didn’t need to kidnap any grooms, we did have to give dowry. One of them is already married and the other will tie the knot later this year. Similarly, my father too would have taken dowry for my marriage. Unless the government eradicates dowry completely, these kidnappings will continue to happen. Bihar is infamous for its politics and crime rate. Doesn’t such a show further tarnish the image of Bihar? No, I don’t agree. Unless we don’t show this how will the people be aware of it? Most people in Mumbai weren’t aware of such kidnappings. I’ve come across people in the city who are taken aback by such practices. It’s important that there is nation wide debate on this issue and that is what will prompt the authorities to act against it. Despite a strong subject, the ratings haven’t been that great. Why do you think that there aren’t too many viewers for your show? That’s because we don’t have a favourable time slot. Most housewives are busy spending time in markets at 7.00 pm. We now show the repeat telecast at 11.30 pm and that is convenient for the urban viewers. Our TRP have increased above 1 and I’m sure in the coming days it will only get better. Tell us about your background? I hail from Patna. Acting has always been my primary passion. I took to theatre from my college days. After completing my graduation, I shifted to Mumbai in 1995. The initial days were full of struggle. I worked during the day and then it was theatre in the evening. I first joined Makarand Deshpande’s theatre group. I’ve worked as a salesman travelling from one road to the other. Mind you I was pretty good at it. Not many could believe that I’m an actor. Later on, I worked as a receptionist for Matunga Gujarati Club. What was the turning point in your life? That was my surprise win in Anupam Kher’s show Zero se hero on L TV. This was in 1995-96. The show was about playing dumb charades and I had absolutely no inkling as to what it was. I happened to be there at the right at the right point of time. Being a movie buff I got most names right and I was crowned the winner. I’ve earned many gift vouchers and I sold most of them at good rates. Thereafter, I took up Sanjay Khan’s Jai Hanuman where I played varied characters. The Bhojpuri industry opened its door for me and there was no looking back then. It’s been smooth going for me in Bollywood too. I’ve played credible roles in films like Black Friday, Main Madhuri Dixit banna chahti hoon, and James. I’ve done various TV shows like Jab love hua, Sunoh har dil kuch chahta hai. Finally, tell us about your personal life? Did you get married at gunpoint? (Laughs) No, there were no guns but our marriage didn’t have the backing of our parents. Inter- caste marriage is not entertained back home and in some cases things get pretty nasty. We had to go through our tense moments before finally settling down in 2001. We have a little daughter too. My life has been a memorable journey full of ups and down. It’s a script within itself. May be when I retire, I can write a book on it.