I have been fortunate enough to visit Nepal a couple of times in my childhood. When you think of the Himalayan nation, cinema is not the first thing that comes to mind, despite the existence of the charming and elegant daughter of Nepal, Manisha Koirala. Meeting representatives of Kathmandu-based sales agents, Mountain River Films, at various film markets across Asia sparked my interest in cinema from that region. They are passionate people who talked a good game, and moreover, followed up our conversations by sending me links to some key contemporary Nepalese films.
Before I delved in, as always, a quick bit of research to acquaint myself with the history of Nepalese cinema. The first Nepali-language film, as all accounts indicate, appears to be DB Pariyar’s Satya Harishchandra (1951), but that was an Indian production. The first indigenous Nepali film, Hira Singh Khatri’s Aama (1964), was produced under the aegis of the Nepal government, and since then, film production in the country flourished until the 1990s. Fans of Mala Sinha may note that she acted in BS Thapa’s Maitighar (1966), a film that also featured cameos by Sunil Dutt and Rajendra Nath, and had music by Jaidev, with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Manna Dey lending their voices.
The emergence of the Maoist movement in the 1990s saw the decline of local productions, and once matters were somewhat resolved in the 2000s, cinema arose again. Like we have seen in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, looking back on a period of conflict always gives rise to great cinema, and Nepal is no different. Samten Bhutia’s Taandro (2015), for example, one of the films that Mountain River Films is championing, follows Koshish, who belongs to an underground Maoist group that is endeavouring to overthrow the government and establish a republic.
Another great example of contemporary Nepalese cinema is Nischal Basnet’s Talakjung vs Tulke (2014), Nepal’s entry for the Oscars last year. India is not the only country that has feudalism, and this is on display in the film. The film follows a village labourer, who dreams of regaining his former aristocratic identity. A revolution sets off a chain of events that forces him to the city, and he returns armed with the tools that will allow him to seek revenge on those who had wronged him and his family.
While these two examples might make it seem that the Nepal film industry likes its themes on the heavier side, this is patently not the case. Basnet’s earlier film, Loot (2012), is about a group of Kathmandu lads who plan a bank heist. The film struck a chord amongst the youth, and they have been known to quote chapter and verse from the film. The film also features a song titled Udhreko Choli . While it is easy enough to describe the song as a racy item number, I would hesitate to do so, because it is pretty tame compared to the depravities Indian filmmakers have demonstrated.
Meanwhile, I have several decades worth of Nepalese films to catch up with, a veritable mountain to climb.
( Courtesy: The Hindu Cinema Plus )