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.