A disillusioned Bihar politician, once a close associate of Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, is treading on new turf by playing the lead role in a Bhojpuri film slated to be released Friday.

Arvind Chowdhary, in his mid-30s, plays a Maoist rebel in "Ganga Tohar Paani Amrit" that depicts how youths become victims of feudal oppression in rural Bihar and take up arms.

The film will release Sep 23, the day the Election Commission notifies the first phase of assembly polls in the state.

The deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar influenced Chowdhary, who opted for Arvind Kumar as his screen name, to take to acting.

"Yes it was my dream to act. I jumped at the proposal to act in a film which portrays the real picture of Bihar and its people," said Arvind.

"I tried my best to depict the angry and oppressed people of Bihar," he told.

K.K. Singh, who has penned several Bollywood hits like "Prem Rog", "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" and "Tiranga", directs the film. Aspiring actress Mansi Shah is the leading lady.

Arvind is optimistic about his maiden venture.

"The film has social elements and stresses on family bonding, both of which are very prominent in rural Bihar," he said.

It was shot in rural locations in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, besides in Delhi, Kolkata, Hardwar, Dehradun and Mumbai.

Arvind developed differences with his mentor and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad after a seven-year-long association.

He then formed his own party, the Rashtriya Lok Seva Morcha.

Arvind is not the first Bihar politician to be bitten by the film bug.

Lalu Prasad made a guest appearance in Mahesh Manjrekar's "Padamshree Lalu Prasad Yadav" last year. Prior to that, he had acted in the Bhojpuri film "Mahua".

Satish Prasad Singh was another politician who had visions of screen fame but his Bhojpuri films "Jogi" and "Jawani" never saw the light of the day.

Then, of course, there is Shatrughan Sinha - but the jury is out on whether he was a better actor or a better politician.