People familiar with the Bhojpuri film industry must be familiar with the name Nirahua. As no surprise to them, the reel-life star Dinesh Lal Yadav popularly known as Nirahua has now become a real-life star by winning the Lok Sabha by-poll from the Azamgarh constituency in Uttar Pradesh. This win has strengthened the Bharatiya Janata Party in UP and has given bitter lessons to the Samajwadi Party.
माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी आपके विश्वास, भरोसे और आशीर्वाद के लिए मैं निरहुआ हृदय से आपका आभार व्यक्त करता हूं।
— Nirahua Hindustani (@nirahua1) June 26, 2022
मैं आपको वचन देता हूं कि आजमगढ़ की सम्मानित जनता – जनार्दन की उम्मीदों पर खरा उतरुंगा। pic.twitter.com/Gw53CzIr9i
Nirahua was defeated by former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, but he has exacted payback by defeating Akhilesh’s brother Dharmendra Yadav in Azamgarh.
Nirahua originally belongs to the Birha family of Ghazipur. Nirahua’s debut film was ‘Humka Aisa-Visa Na Samajha,’ but his first release was ‘Chalat Musafir Moh Leo Re’ in 2006. In this film, his name is ‘Nirahua.’ Dinesh Lal Yadav, the son of Kumar and Chandrajyoti Yadav, rose to prominence after starring in the 2007 film ‘Ho Gail Baa Pyaar Odhaniya Wali Se.’ At the time, the songs from this film were popular among the people of UP, Bihar and Jharkhand.
Nirahua joined the BJP on March 27, 2019, but his film career did not end there. In the year 2021, he also released a song in which he supported the construction of the Ram temple. He also included political themes in many of his songs. The action of Nirahua, who had taken Karate training in childhood, was so popular that even his failed films were able to run for three weeks. Within three years of his debut, he had become Bhojpuri’s ‘Jubilee Star.’
During that time, he also performed on stage in Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand. His film ‘Nirahua Rickshaw Wala’ was a smash hit in 2007. Along with this, its songs were a big success.
‘Nirahua Hindustani,’ his 50th film, was released in 2014. The picture was released on multiplexes. In 2016, the UP government honoured him with the ‘Yash Bharti Samman.’ His 2018 film ‘Border’ grossed 19 crores, a record for Bhojpuri films.
Dinesh Lal Yadav comes from a modest household. His father used to work in Kolkata for Rs 3500 a month, which required him to care for 5 children in addition to his wife. Nirahua has a brother and three sisters. He didn’t even have a bicycle back then, so he had to walk for several kilometres. He had a passion for singing and music since childhood, and his inspiration was his cousin Vijay Lal, a well-known Birha singer in the locality.
Nirhua created a reputation for himself among Bhojpuri song-music fans even before entering the film industry, thanks to the success of his 2003 album ‘Nirhua Satal Rahe.’ He stated his assets to be about Rs 6 crore in his election affidavit. He also has a Range Rover and a Toyota Fortuner. In 2019, he also made his OTT debut in ‘Hero Vardi Wala,’ first Bhojpuri online series.
He also appeared in the 2012 film ‘Ganga Devi’ alongside Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan. ‘Nirhua Chalal London’ was the first Bhojpuri film to be shot outside of India in 2018. He also appeared on the 2012 season of ‘Bigg Boss.’ His 2016 film ‘Patna Se Pakistan’ was also a box office blockbuster.
