Produced by Mehmood Ali of Pen and Camera International in association with First Release Worldwide Company, the show will begin Oct 26 in Mumbai. Actor Ravi Kishan, said to be the superstar of Bhojpuri films, is leading the troupe and is thrilled to bits.

'I have worked very hard to popularise this language, which was looked down upon as a c-grade vernacular language. I am from Jaunpur and love my language. I decided to market it in a way that would make it an international phenomenon. And see ... we are going to have our first Bhojpuri concert across the globe,' Ravi told IANS.

'Over 270 million people speak and understand Bhojpuri and we are expecting more than 100,000 people to attend the concert in Mumbai,' he added. Twenty shows are being planned in various parts of India and rest of the world.

With the phenomenal growth experienced by the Bhojpuri film industry, many Bollywood stars too have joined in to add the glamour quotient. 'From Amitabh Bachchan to Dilip Kumar and G.P. Sippy - everybody is now showing interest in Bhojpuri films. In fact, Dilip saab told me that Bollywood is selling pizzas and burgers to Indian audiences while you are selling the authentic Indian stuff,' added Ravi.

Yesteryears actress Saira Banu recently entered Bhojpuri films with 'Ab To Banja Sajanwa Hamaar', which is produced by her. 'I always felt it was a beautiful language. There is something distinctive about it. I remember in 1976, in 'Bairaag', I played a
Bhojpuri-speaking banjaaran (gypsy girl). I had also spoken the language in 'Sagina'. Prior to that, I had seen 'Ganga Jamuna' and it left a tremendous impression on my mind,' said Saira Banu.

She added: 'Bhojpuri is an earthy language, there is so much of Indianness to it. And since the dialect is close to Hindi and Urdu, Bhojpuri cinema has a great future. I plan to continue making films in Bhojpuri.'