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All seven passengers aboard the Air Dynasty helicopter that went missing in Taplejung on Wednesday afternoon have been confirmed dead. Passengers included Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari and Yeti Airlines chairman Ang Tsering Sherpa.  

The helicopter crashed in the Sisne River that flows between the Lingkhim and Phurumbu villages in Taplejung. SSP Sharad Khatri of the Provincial Police Department Dharan confirmed the death of the passengers. “The bodies of all passengers have been found,” he said.

Minister Adhikari and his team of government officials had reached Taplejung after inspecting the Chuhandanda Airport at Tehrathum.

The list of seven deceased passengers:

Rabindra Adhikari: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation

Ang Tsering Sherpa: Chairman, Yeti Airlines

Birendra Prasad Shrestha: Deputy Director General of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN),

Arjun Kumar Ghimire: Minister Adhikari’s PSO

Yuvaraj Dahal: Adviser to the PM’s Office

Dhurba Bhochhibhoya: Deputy Director of CAAN

Prabhakar KC: Helicopter captain

The Chinese government has invited President Bidya Devi Bhandari to the second Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) conference slated to start on April 25. On behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese Ambassador in Kathmandu Hou Yanqi formally extended President Bhandari the invitation to the conference. Barring last-minute changes, Bhandari will leave for China on April 24, where she will lead a contingent of high-level Nepali delegates, and return home on April 28. China has invited many heads of government or state to the conference.

Despite being a BRI member country, Nepal has not warmed up to projects under the trillion-dollar Chinese initiative. Analysts reckon Nepal hasn’t shown sufficient interest in the projects. By inviting President Bhandari, China has conveyed that Nepal is a BRI priority country. But except in rhetoric, top Nepali leaders, including Prime Minister KP Oli, haven’t reciprocated the Chinese gesture.

President Bhandari’s visit is expected to improve Nepal’s BRI prospects

“However, the fact that our head-of-state is attending the conference sends a meaningful signal. It strongly suggests that the BRI is a top priority for Nepal,” says Khadga KC, a foreign policy expert. Analysts like KC believe that Bhandari’s visit will inject fresh momentum into Nepal’s participation in the BRI. Some western countries have been apprehensive though. Dismissing such apprehension, KC says, “The BRI is not a strategic alliance. We shouldn’t do anything that hurts our national interest. But President Bhandari’s participation in the conference is a positive thing.”

High-level sources say President Bhandari is scheduled to address the conference. She will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping one-on-one and extend him a formal invitation to visit Nepal.  Nepal joined the BRI in May 2017 when Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was the prime minister. Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and the then Chinese Ambassador Yu Hong had signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the framework agreement on the BRI in an event held in Kathmandu that was attended by then Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara and then Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat. Immediately following the signing of the deal, Mahara had led a Nepali delegation at the first BRI conference in Beijing.
 

Although there has been no official word on the Chinese invitation to President Bhandari, foreign ministry officials have unofficially verified it, going so far as to reveal that the invitation letter is signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping himself. The Office of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu are already making preparations for Bhandari’s visit. Sources have also revealed that President Bhandari has already conferred with Prime Minister Oli about her participation in the BRI conference.

The BRI is an ambitious pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had presided over the first BRI conference held in Beijing on May 14-15, 2017. Attending it were top leaders from around 100 countries, including Nepal.  

This movie touches on so many themes so seamlessly, in what is also a beautifully woven story. You will be effortlessly transported into the crowded gullies (alleys) of Mumbai, India and into the minds of its dwellers who dream of a better life. For a Hindi cinema, ‘Gully Boy’ is revolutionary in many ways: in its pitch for freedom for women, its beautification of brown skin, and in how it tackles sensitive issues of class divisions and poverty.

This story is centered on Murad who is also known as ‘Gully Boy’ (Ranveer Singh). Tension mounts after his father brings in a new wife and financial pressure on the family builds. Murad finds escape in music. Loosely based on the lives of Divine and Naezy, two Mumbai rappers, this is a story of Murad’s journey to rap stardom.  

There is not a moment Singh appears anything other than a gully boy who believes in his dreams. The energy he brings to a film set is legendary, and he doesn’t falter in this film as well. Singh manages to perfectly capture the emotional vulnerability of a troubled rapper. In a pivotal scene, when he is denied entry into a night club, for he is only a lowly driver, he is shown listening to a rap song in the car outside, that steely look in his eyes to one day make it big himself.

Alia Bhatt, who plays Ranveer’s love interest Safina, is a rebellious feminist who has been born in a conservative household. Despite this not being advertised as a film with a strong female character, Safina is the feminist we needed to see in Bollywood. She is the backbone of Murad and fighting her own battles at home while trying to achieve her dream of becoming a surgeon, even as her mother only wants to marry her off. She is supportive of Murad’s dreams, telling him she will bring the money, if needed; and is an unabashed lover who breaks beer bottles on the head of any woman who tries to steal her love of 13 years.

Who should watch it?

Anyone who understands Hindi. Even those who don’t should watch it with subtitles. Stellar performances, great narrative and breathtaking music, it’s a complete package.

Siddhant Chaturvedi, who has debuted with this film, is surely here to stay in Bollywood. He plays MC Sher, a humble and strong street rapper, who is there for Murad at every step. He is Murad’s guide, and even when he loses to the Gully Boy, he is there helping Murad till the end. Other supporting characters also help bring the story to life.

This movie may be based on a cliché of a poor man with talent overcoming various hurdles to achieve his dreams. Yet there are innumerable household dramas and gully fights you find yourself riveted to. Perhaps in a perfect sum-up of the storyline, Murad says to his father that even though his dream and reality do not match, he will change his reality to match his dream.  

There is subtle comedy even in serious moments. The movie also effortlessly blends an 18-track album into the plot of this 2h30m movie.

This is not just a movie, but an emotional rollercoaster that will stay with you long after. Even if you are not a rap fan, in the end you will invariably find yourself humming “Apna time aayega” (the movie’s title track). Watching it once will not be enough!

Movie: Gully Boy

Genre: Musical drama/ Romance

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Siddhant Chaturvedi

Director: Zoya Akhtar

Rating: 4.5/5

This movie based on Subin Bhattarai’s hit Nepali novel Summer Love (2012) was released in the Valentine week. Just days before, Bhattarai, who was involved in writing dialogues for the film, had expressed his disappointment with the casting. Forget casting. There is hardly anything good in the movie.

‘Summer Love’ has a conventional storyline of a guy (Atit Sharma played by Ashish Piya) falling in love with a girl (Saya Shakya, played by Rewati Chetri). Atit, who hails from Biratnagar, falls for Saya when he has only seen her name on a college board. But Atit and Saya hit it off instantly. By and by, Saya calls Atit to a party, where it is revealed that she is going to pursue her Master’s at a Norwegian university on full scholarship. Instead of being happy for her, Atit is discouraging and makes a fool of himself by drinking and vomiting in front of her parents.

Who should watch it?

If you can overlook bad acting in favor of great location and if Korean pop is your thing, there are bits and pieces you may like

When Saya leaves for Norway, they miss each other so much that Saya returns to Nepal to secretly marry Atit. Back in Norway, she proposes that Atit meet her father to officially ask for her hand in marriage. When he does, he is insulted by Saya’s father, who also rules out marriage because of difference in castes. This creates rift between Saya and Atit, and in frustration, Atit sleeps with Sushmita (Namrata Sapkota), who helps him get through the hard times. Atit later goes to Norway to meet Saya and gets nothing but cold looks. She acts distant and without revealing why, the film ends with a “to be continued…”

In the lead, Ashish and Rewati do injustice to their roles. You just don’t feel the pain of a couple struggling in a long distance relationship, especially when their parents disapprove. The supporting actors are more convincing though. Namrata does a wonderful portrayal of Sushmita, in emoting how she feels knowing he loves someone else. Atit’s parents, despite getting less screen time, show the love for their child with the acceptance of an inter-caste marriage.

This film is pleasing on the eyes. The locations and costumes are pretty. If they wanted lead actors to look Korean, they nailed it. Both Ashish and Rewati dress like the actors in the famous Korean drama ‘Boys Before Flowers’.

But this film as a whole is shallow. We don’t know where these two lead actors are coming from or about their family’s economic conditions. Atit looks like a rich dude covered in expensive clothes but he actually rides a public bus. Also, he lives in a fancy room and gets the job of a project manager in a company but a short scene shows him taking a loan of Rs 3 lakh. So many things are unclear. It is disappointing to sit for this long film and not know what happens in the end. Just tell us already!

The plot of this 2h 36m movie is so slow you may catch a nap and not miss anything, unless you are hooked to the unnecessarily long exchange of looks between different characters. The overuse of background score whenever Saya and Atit are together, apparently to compensate for the missing on-screen chemistry, is tacky too. The book may be good; not this movie.  

Movie: Summer Love

Genre: Romantic drama

Rating: 1.5/5

Cast: Rewati Chetri, Ashish Piya, Suraj Singh Thakuri

Director: Muskan Dhakal