Mission Paisa

'Mission paisa' screening for second weekKathmandu – A film based on five youth who are ready to do everything for money, 'Mission Paisaa' currently hitting the halls around the country for second week. The film shows the struggle of Nepalese youth to earn money in Hong Kong. Special effects and animations have conducted in Mission Paisa more as other Nepali movies had.

Actors like Nikhil Upreti, Suraj Ardi, Amir Gautam, Nisha Adhikari, Ausha Basnet, Basnet and Sunil Thapa are in the major role. Shimosh Sunuwar has taken the responsibility for story writing, screen play and editing whereas Hyman Keshi is a fight director.

Kushume Rumal (1985)

Kusume Rumal (Cotton's Handkerchief) is a 1985 Nepali romantic film directed by Tulsi Ghimire. The film has a massive star cast which includes: 

Bhuwan K.C.,
Tripti Nadakar,
Udit Narayan
Neer Shah.

The film was the first production of Uddav Paudel, the owner of Gopi Krishna Movies, and was successful to celebrate first silver jublee in Nepal.

Nepali movies: My experience

By Dikshya Karki

I walked into the cinema hall with no expectations and a whim to be taken by surprise. The movie unfolded with a request for the audience not to chew chewing gums. It was greeted by sounds of gums exploding in mouths from all corners. The lights went out and the movie started. The opening scene proved that my half a decade absence as an enthusiast Nepali movie viewer was not going to receive any warm welcome. Every one in the audience should have predicted that the lady sitting cross-legged in front of a few photos of Gods would get up and call out for her son's father. The next scene was rather unpredictable: an adolescent brother pouring tea into glasses for his parents and family. No offence for the effort but the cold tea which evidently cooked a while ago by the spot boy being poured into steel glasses was just unnecessary. Furthermore his entry to his dear sister's room and his out of the world reaction just took my breath away. It made me think what was happening to the world? Do our filmmakers need to force their stories into the audience so ruthlessly? Are they so helpless and lacking any form of imagination? Does the Nepali film industry need to steal ideas from Bollywood to make a 'Nepali' movie?
I put all my questions on the back of my head and told myself: Maybe I was misjudging our director's capabilities. So I challenged myself to watch another movie which had celebrated fifty-one days in the box office. I was utterly disheartened by the experience. 'Dadagiri' confirmed my convictions. I can't comprehend how the action director ever finalized a scene where hands and legs are flying everywhere. The dialogues were most often embarrassing and though the script writer had been working in the industry for some decades he showed none of his creativity. Can it be called compromise or neglect? Everybody works to make a living but in showbiz you need to prove that you are worth the job. A good script can turn a low budget movie to a box office bomb.

There is no lack of inspiration for filmmakers in Nepal. There are hundreds of stories waiting to be told in every corner of our hinterlands. The problem is we don't have a good storyteller and movies without fine stories are houses without walls. Even if the pillars of the houses are comedy, tragedy, humor and romance and they stand tall. It can neither provide shelter nor lure anyone to enter its premise. Most Nepali movies are a packaged product. They have everything to make them commercially viable-a thunder struck night, a rape scene, lovers dancing around trees, a villain with a long overcoat and an actor who can beat twenty swindlers solely with the power of his muscles. Yet the movie leaves you with a headache. You feel deceived when you walk out of the cinema hall. Generalizations are always harmful for anyone who has an opinion but sometimes facts generalize themselves. If you stroll around the city and observe posters of Nepali films pasted on nearly every pole they will define themselves. You cut out the action sequences in any movie; it will have nothing to offer.

Obviously men with muscles are in high demand in the industry be it Nikhil Upreti who jumps from complexes or Bhiraj Bhatt who can battle a trained bear. Rajesh Hamal the king of all however will fit every role; police inspector, big brother, lover or a Don. He is called a superstar the 'one' who has more than a hundred movies to his credit and maybe one movie that he can be proud of. Rekha Thapa a.k.a 'love guru' is another sought after actress. She's the perfect 'Nepali item girl' whose moves seldom grant you an opportunity to admire her. Sometimes skimpy clothes just don't do the magic. Directors, script writers and actors all need to share a chemistry that can win the admiration of the audience. The lack of chemistry always results in a movie that goes nowhere and leaves the viewer with emptiness.

There is a dire need for someone to break the spell of recurring premise in Nepali movies. New, forthcoming directors with their passion are showing that they have the magical wand. Bhusan Dahal has already completed filming 'Kagbeni'. Alok Nembang and actor Rajesh Hamal plan to take on the director's seat very soon. Nabin Subba, director of the internationally acclaimed 'Numafung' is soon to start filming 'Goodbye Kathmandu'. Theatre actor-director Anup Baral is working as cast director for the movie. These promising moves in Nepali filmmaking are in the process of creating history. They could falter in their mission or change the fate of Nepali cinema forever.

Nepali

Starring: Bharath, Meera Jasmine, Prem
Direction: VZ Durai
Music: Srikanth Deva
Production: Rama Saravanan

‘Nepali, the name itself suggests that something different is on offer. But everything that is different need not always be interesting. In a way, Nepali has nothing new in terms of its basic plot. It’s the same boy meets girl, love at first sight, marriage, tragedy and revenge plot, but the script takes a slightly offbeat route.

Nepali is the story of a young man, Bharath, who does odd jobs in many places during the day but assumes a dangerously sadistic persona at times. It is as if he knows things that few others know, doing things for reasons that only he knows. His hands hold steady as he sends people to their death, often in the most grueling ways. The law is behind him. But one thing puzzles us: why is he dressed in such a peculiar manner- those pointed brows and small eyes. Is he from Nepal?

Nepali is also the story of another young man, played by Bharath again, who has to face bitter experiences that change him forever. To start with, Bharath is shown as a software engineer, young and happy and in love with a girl in Ooty, Meera Jasmine. Facing opposition from her family, the lovers have no option but to elope and marry. It is a happy and contented life in a world of their own –and it couldn’t get better. But the evil shadow of a police officer who has developed a desire for Meera Jasmine lurks over them. Desire becomes obsession and tragedy follows close behind.



Nepali tells the story of one other young man- Bharath again! who ends up in jail for a crime that he could not avoid committing. In jail he meets a man who holds many secrets that could knock down many big names in the city. In the dark shadows of the gallows, the secrets change hands while no one notices. The hunted man with secrets does not survive but leaves his unfinished tasks in the hands of the young man he met.

This is basically what Nepali is all about. You might be a bit confused, and that’s exactly how the script is - confusing. You might also think that there are many layers to the story but it is actually a simple linear story that has been convoluted back and forth to produce a movie that falls just short of being interesting. The film is set in three time periods and the script moves back and forth between then and now. This kind of narration can be interesting, but the talented director, V.Z. Dhorai (remember the excellent Mugavari?), somehow misfires. This see-sawing narrative movement only makes the movie lose momentum far too many times, always moving in fits and starts, never settling into a steady pace.


The cast, except for Bharath, do not have a great deal to do. Bharath, in perhaps the most challenging role of his career, has done well. However, we have to remark that there was more potential in the role, and the director should have got more out of the star. Meera Jasmine’s role isn’t challenging: she walks through it with ease. Govind Namdev, as the old man in jail, has done a neat job. The rest of the cast consist of Charan Raj, Dhandapani, Raja Ravinder and Goutham who have all done fairly well with the limited roles they play.

Music by Srikanth Deva is a definite plus point, especially with the ‘Hey You’ being really lively. The script also flirts briefly with comedy with Mayilsaamy and company, trying to raise a few laughs. The Bharath-Meera romance is a low point in the movie: it never seems to work. It is not endearing, except in one song. Technically, the movie deserves praise for Mathi’s camera and Madan Gunadeva’s editing. The movie does seem a bit lengthy-around 3 hours.



Overall, Nepali is a product that started off with a good idea but slipped down because of a script that failed to maintain flow and execution that took the zing out of the plot. Certain scenes seem to go on forever. Nepali is not bad, not exactly mediocre either - it just fails to give us a really interesting three hours. During the film’s climax, Bharath runs into a subway followed by policemen; gunshots are heard and then…… you’re in for a surprise!

Nepali - interesting premise, not so interesting outcome

Das Dhunga

Will Das Dhunga Reveal Truth?
Prabalta Rijal

Great leaders don’t only belong to a particular party, they belong to the nation, to the people. Nepal lost two such leaders fifteen years ago in a mysterious road accident at Das Dhunga. The incident know as Das Dhunga left the entire nation flabbergasted but the death of Madan Bhandari and Jeevaraj Aashrit raised a lot of questions.



In an effort to find answers to these questions and lift the curtain from a suspense that had been looming in our minds for fifteen years, two young filmmakers have almost completed a film ‘Das Dhunga’, a semi-fictional film on the mysterious incident.



The lead character has been fictionalised to protect the identity of a journalist who was forced to leave the nation because of his search for the truth. Apart from this all the facts revealed in the film are true according to its director/writer Manoj Pandit, 29, and producer Apil Bista, 27.



"I grew up wondering who killed Madan Bhandari, we debated about it and none of us have actually been able to accept that it was an accident. I just wanted to get to the bottom of it and in a way we have been able to unveil the mystery behind the so-called accident in the film," said Pandit.



The two hour long film presented by Apil Bista Films Production is based on an investigation by a government investigative officer, played by Anup Baral--a renowned theatre actor/director.



The film begins with the car crash at Das Dhunga, which took the lives of the two leaders and revolves around the investigation, interrogation of Amar Lama, Bhandari’s driver who had been suspected and accused of carrying out the tragic master-plan.



"Though the film has focused on the death of political leaders, it’s not a political film—we have just tried to unravel the truth behind the mystery. For this we have tried in a very unique manner, we will not compromise on creativity and we will reveal our findings at any cost," he said adding that they had already started receiving threats for making the film. "We have had people calling to tell us that there is no threat to our lives from inside Nepal, but there are outside forces who can easily harm us," said Bista.



While talking to The Rising Nepal on how they researched for the film, Pandit explained that they met the relatives of the deceased. They also came across an investigative journalist who gave them information he had on the mystery which helped them take their research a step ahead. They also claimed that they received no support from the people they expected it the most from, and found a lot of facts and files related to the case going missing from government offices and other sources.
"There were loopholes and it became very difficult to actually connect them because most of the people we approached weren’t too keen on helping us that surprising yet very disappointing," they said.
They also informed that they received anonymous calls telling them that the film would in no way pass the censors. " Apart from all this, I did not even write the dialogues in the script for fear of their leakage," said Pandit.
"The dialogues like ‘Go and ask Madhav and Oli about who killed Bhandari’ and ‘ Do you work for the CIA’?, have been leaked," they said.



After the documentary ‘Greater Nepal’, which has been banned in Nepal, Pandit seems to have done it again, another controversial topic and another quest for truth. ‘Das Dhunga’ too looks very promising and is currently in its first phase of editing.



Bista who is very enthusiastic about the film informed that a few faces of the culprits will be revealed if those scenes are not censored. "We don’t know what the film will look like after it is censored, but if it comes out uncensored, it will surely cause an uproar," they added.



A fan of the Hollywood Oscar winning actor and director Clint Eastwood, Pandit has been inspired by the filmmaker’s style of cinematography and has tried to use this style in ‘Das Dhunga’. The film seems to have shaped up in a Hollywood style and the makers claim that no other Nepali film has been made in this way.



"Doing the film was very interesting but honestly speaking we have very few actors who can become a ‘director’s actor’, its not difficult to become an actor, but to become a ‘director’s actor’ needs a lot of professionalism which most of our actors lack," Pandit told.



Apart from Anup Baral who’s playing the lead, Dhayang Rai will be playing Amar Lama, Mandan Bhandari will be played by his own brother, Ram Krishna Poudel will play Jivraj Ashrit and Sanchita Luitel will play Baral’s wife in the film. The film’s cinematography which according to it’s producer is exceptionally good has been done by Purshottam Pradhan, The film to be released on the end of May is being edited by Nimesh Shrestha and the music for the film has been composed by Kicha.



Will ‘Das Dhunga’ reveal the killers? Well, we will just have to wait for the release of the film this year, because the makers refused to unveil the suspense.