Cinema of Nepal

Cinema of Nepal
Cinema of Nepal
No. of screens	130[1]
• Per capita	0.2 per 100,000 (2001)[1]
Main distributors	Music Nepal Mountain River Films
Produced feature films
Animated	19+
Documentary	25+

Nepali cinema does not have a very long history, but the industry has its own place in the cultural heritage of the country. It is often referred to as "Nepali Chalchitra" (which translates to "Nepalese movies" in English). This includes films in various languages of Nepal. The terms Kollywood and Kallywood are also used, as a portmanteau of "Kathmandu".^[2]

History

The making of Nepalese films is said to have begun with D.B. Pariyar's Satya Harishchandra, which was the first Khas-language movie to be shot. It was produced from Kolkata, India and was released on September 14, 1951. Aama (meaning mother) was the first film produced in Nepal and was released on October 7, 1964. It was produced by the Information Department of His Majesty's Government of Nepal (now Government of Nepal (GoN)). It was directed by Hira Singh Khatri and the lead actors were Shiva Shankar Manandhar and Bhuwan Chand, who are regarded as the first actors in the Nepali film industry.

The first film to be produced under a private banner was Maitighar, which was released at the end of 1966 by Sumonanjali Films Pvt. Ltd. Although it was a Nepalese movie, it had many Indians contributing toward its making. Mala Sinha played the lead role, along with Chidambar Prasad Lohani, whom she later married. It had special appearances of Sunil Dutt and comedian Rajendra Nath. Directed by B.S. Thapa and music scored by Jaidev, a veteran maestro, it had Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Manna Dey, all of whom were established Indian singers, doing the playback singing with Prem Dhoj Pradhan, C.P. Lohani and Aruna Lama.

The Nepal government established the Royal Nepal Film Corporation in 1971. Mann Ko Bandh was the first film produced by the Corporation; Jay Rana was the director. Nati Kaji and Shiva Shankar were the music composers of the songs. Amber Gurung scored the background music. It premiered in 1973 in Kathmandu. Mann Ko Bandh was followed by Kumari (the first Eastman color Nepali film) in 1978, Sindoor in 1980, and Jeevan Rekha in a series. And "Badlindo Aakash" in 1984. Their success opened up the avenue for private parties to enter into filmmaking as an industrial endeavor.

Paral Ko Aago, directed by Pratap Subba, was produced by Cinema in 1978. The black-and-white movie proved to be a great success due to its story and melodious music. The actors were Tanka Sharma, Basundhara Bhusal, Susmita Dhakal, I.K. Singh, Menuka Pradhan, etc. The music director Shanti Thatal became the first female music director in Nepali movies. The lyrics were prepared by Manbahadur Mukhiya and Indra Thapaliya and the songs were sung by Aruna Lama, Dawa Gyalmo, Pema Lama, Shankar Gurung and Deepa Gahatraj (Jha). Pratap Subba was also the scriptwriter. It was based on a popular short story of the same name by Guru Prasad Mainali.

Golden era

After the 1980s, some relatively more creative films were made and they became successful, too. Thus, filmmaking started to appear as a more viable profession and the number of productions increased a bit. After the introduction of private companies in the Nepali film industry, the time came when more films were being made and they were much more accepted by Nepalese audiences. Samjhana, Kusume Rumal, Lahure, Kanchhi, Basudev, Saino and Koseli, which were released between 1984 and 1993, were very popular. The leading actors were Bhuwan K.C. and Tripti Nadakar, whose on-screen chemistry saw them being dubbed the "golden couple" of the industry. In the later years of the decade, the industry saw the rise of Rajesh Hamal and Karishma Manandhar.

In 1990, Nepal witnessed important political change. The people’s movement brought the monarchy to its knees and democracy was restored. The society started to become open and vibrant. This had an important consequence for the fledgling film industry: It began to grow rapidly or even to "bloat". There was an unprecedented growth in the number of productions. Within three years, some 140 films were made. Distribution started to develop. Share in the existing market increased and the market itself expanded. Cinema halls increased to more than 300. Nepalese filmmakers became optimistic of displacing Hindi films, which had dominated the Nepali market.

Conflict era

The start of the Maoist revolution in Nepal in the mid-1990s was the beginning of the downfall of the domestic film industry. In the period of war and conflict, a very small number of films were made, and audience numbers fell sharply. It resulted in lower budgets and even lower performances, which resulted in even smaller audiences. In the later years of the conflict, the production and release of Nepali films had almost come to a standstill. Many actors and filmmakers left the country in search for work abroad. Actors like Saroj Khanal, Shiva Shrestha, Karishma Manandhar, Tripti Nadakar, Kristi Mainali and Gauri Malla had little work.

During the 1990s, some filmmakers, mostly with non-fiction base, started championing a new kind of cinema. They denounced the crude imitation of Bollywood aesthetics and demanded indigenous aesthetics and a more realistic approach. They made some films which have received some critical acclaim at home and some international recognition. Historic movies like Balidaan and Seema Rekha made during this period were appreciated by critics and audience.

In 2000-2001, the highest-grossing Nepali film Darpan Chaya and 'Jindagani' was made. 'Jindagani' was directed and produced by Ujwal Ghimire and 'Darpan Chaya' was directed by Tulsi Ghimire and starred Dilip Rayamajhi, Niruta Singh and Uttam Pradhan. It earned NRs 7 crore (equivalent to NRs 15 crore in 2016) at the box office.

Present situation

By 2006, as the situation in Nepal calmed down and with Maoists coming into mainstream politics, the Nepali film industry started to return to its previous state, and more films were being made and released. Some of the successful post-2006 films include Kagbeni, Sano Sansar, Mero Euta Saathi Cha, First Love and Kohi Mero.

In the 2010s, films such as Loot, " Andaj"( 2011 film) Chapali Height, Nai Nabhannu La 2, Kohinoor, Kabaddi, Kabaddi Kabaddi,(2015 film) " Wada No 6" was the highest grossing in the year and Kalo Pothi became critically acclaimed.

The highest grossing Nepali film is Chhakka Panja (2016), grossing about NRs 22 crore followed by Kohinoor (2014) with NRs 12 crore. Highest watched film in YouTube is 'Chhaka Panja" and second highest watched film was Wada No 6 till date which was directed by Ujwal Ghimire.

The US-Nepali documentary Manakamana, about pilgrims on the Manakamana Cable Car, was released in 2013 and received positive reviews.

In December 2016, Bijuli Machine, Nepal’s first science-fiction film with a social story was released and ran successfully in cinemas.^[3] The movie was directed and written by Navin Awal with Santosh Lamichhane as a scientific consultant.^[4][5] It was reported that the movie set a trend in Nepali films by a making a movie with a low budget, without an item song, stereotypical fights or a romantic story, rather with an authentic Nepali story inspired by the problems faced in the society, like electricity power cuts, and still succeeded to entertain the audience.^[6]

Likewise, Kalo Pothi (Black Hen) by Min Bahadur Bham, Highway by Deepak Rauniyar, Nivna Lageko Diyo (Dying Candle) by Naresh K.C. and Seto Surya (White Sun) by Deepak Rauniyar have been officially selected to major international film festivals like Venice, Berlin, Toronto international film festival and winning award at Singapore international film festival. Nepalese cinema scenario is at transformation phase due to beginning of cinema studies in Nepal academically decade ago. Film graduates from Oscar International College of Film Studies might change the cinematic scenario of Nepalese cinema in coming near future.

Film Development Board

The Film Development Board (FDB) was established by the Government of Nepal for the development and promotion of the Nepali film industry. The Board is a liaison to facilitate the conceptualization, making, distribution and exhibition of Nepali films nationally. The Board attempts to bridge the gap between film entrepreneurship and government bureaucracy. The Board is a balance between the people at large, the government, and the process of filmmaking. It is intended to act as the safeguard of the interests of the people, the watchdog of the government, and the advocate of filmmakers.^[7]

Nepal as a location

Owing to its vast cultural diversity, geography and its natural beauty, Nepal has been able to portray itself as one of the beautiful shooting location for filmmakers in the past couple of years. Many films from India and abroad have been shot in Nepal. The most internationally acclaimed film that was shot in Nepal was the Academy Award-nominated Caravan, a film by French director Éric Valli. In 2014, parts of the British-American film Everest was shot in Nepal.

Some of the films filmed in Nepal are:

• Caravan
• Everest
• Little Buddha
• Seven Years in Tibet
• Baby
• Doctor Strange
• Katmandú, un espejo en el cielo
• Highway to Dhampus
• Beyond the Edge
• The Touch
• Witch from Nepal
• The Golden Child
• Baraka
• The Wildest Dream
• Love in Nepal
• Mahaan
• The Fall
• Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971 film)
• Gharwali Baharwali

See also

• List of Nepalese films
• Cinema of the world
• Tharu Cinema

References

External links

• Film Development Board of Nepal