Submit your Article

I didn’t really want to review another Akshay Kumar movie anytime soon but Amazon Prime seems to be very stingy with its new releases and did not give me a lot of options this week. Also, I cannot relate much with African (Nollywood) films and I don’t know why they are being released in hordes in Prime. 

So ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ it is. This historical period piece stars Kumar as the epic Indian king Prithviraj Chauhan of the Chahamana dynasty. The movie begins with a scene in Gazni, Afghanistan in 1192 CE where a wounded and blinded Prithviraj fights soldiers in horses and grapples with half-a-dozen lions while poet Chand Bardai (Sonu Sood) sings his praises aloud. 

From the very first scene, the audience understands that the film is a highly fictional narrative to glorify the late king Prithviraj, the aging actor Kumar, and this one religion which is growing vehemently violent in our neighboring country. 

Either that or the whole filmmaking team is going through fauxtalgia. (Look it up. It’s a legit word). Anyways, Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi writes and directs this movie that is based on an epic poem titled ‘Prtihiraj Rasso’ by Chand Bardai. To give it a little context, Dwivedi is the ‘Chanakya’ from the eponymous series ‘Chanakya’ which was pretty popular back in the 90s. Among his other creative works, the movie ‘Pinjar’ (2003) is also critically acclaimed. 

Now what forced Dwivedi to undertake such a blatant commercialization of a history piece is the question. If you’ve watched his Chanakya or Pinjar or even the not so famous ‘Zed Plus’, you’ll have a different opinion of him. But in Samrat Prithviraj, Dwivedi fails as a writer and director. He deviates from honest storytelling to paint a larger-than-life picture of the king. But Dwivedi lacks the guile and grandeur of Sanjay Leela Bhanshali to pull off the mega-pageantry. 

As expected of a glorification project, historical inaccuracies malign the whole plot. Prithviraj may have been the bravest of the brave and the strongest of the strong but if you tell me he fought seven full-grown lions with spears and killed them all, that too when he was captured, blinded and parched, I am not going to take any of it. 

King Prithviraj Chauhan is believed to have died at the age of around 25-26. Actor Akshay Kumar is 54. Former Miss World Manushi Chillar who plays his love interest Sanyogita is 25. The couple look like father and daughter in some scenes and seriously, that is how it should be now for our aging actors who are still banking on their past glory. 

Period pieces are always difficult to pull off. Besides the narration there are many things to consider, like costumes, makeup, sets, dialogues and more. Samrat Prithviraj is a failure on all fronts. The production, even though backed up by the Yash Raj Films banner, is immature. The casting is also a disaster. 

Otherwise, who in their right mind would cast muscleman Sonu Sood as a poet? No offense to the actor but his career is a long list of macho roles. But he is not a poet. Not even a warrior poet. He looks uncomfortable and out of place in a role that is the film’s second most important. And I am not even going to comment on Akshay Kumar’s acting because he is too old at least by a decade to take up a role like this.

The rest of the cast, although famous and experienced, is also below par. It is probably the shoddy writing and Kumar’s over-the-top presence that throw them into shadow. Sanjay Dutt, who is given an atrocious role, could have been replaced with a newcomer and the balance spent on better CGI. 

Yes, the CGI is that bad too. So is the background score. So is the music. And the film is too long.  

Who should watch it? 

Unfortunately, this is another on my ‘no one’ list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33-CQdPHyjw 

One star 

Genre: Drama/history

Actors: Akshay Kumar, Sonu Sood, Manushi Chillar

Director: Chandraprakash Dwivedi

Run time: 2hrs 15mins

The Patan area of Lalitpur is known for its rich cultural heritage, which has been passed down generations. No wonder so many artisans reside here, plying the trade of their ancestors. Shailendra Maharjan is one of them. He specializes in the art of bronze sculptures of deities, something he learned from his father.   

This week I visited Maharjan’s workshop at Patan’s Bholdhoka to find out more about the art.

There are several artisans at the workshop, each with a specific skill required to produce exquisite sculptures, but it is Maharjan who designs the masterpiece and sculpts the visage of the deity being made. He has worked in this field for over two decades in order to perfect this art. 

For any sculpture, Maharjan explains, “you need the masterpiece”, a mold made with the mixture of clay and Benzoin resin by heating them together. Heat is mandatory to bring the mixture in shape. Without it, the mixture hardens in no time. 

Once the masterpiece is prepared, it is now time to replicate that shape with the melted copper. To create a hollow space to pour the molten copper into, the masterpiece is covered with a mixture of mud and chaff and left to dry in the sun for a couple of days. When completely dry, it becomes rock-solid. It is then taken to the coal burner, where the clay-Benzoin resin mixture melts from the inside. The melted mixture is then removed, leaving just the outer layer with a hole inside. 

Once the poured molten bronze has completely cooled down, the mold is broken using a hammer, revealing the sculpture. Sometimes the sculptures turn out to have some holes and patches, which are mended with the use of a hammer and welding. For large statues, Maharjan says, parts of the sculpture have to be made one at a time and attached later. 

After that, it is all about final touch-ups. First, the sculptures are given some intricate carvings. They are then plated with a mixture of gold and mercury, giving them a silver color. The next process includes the heating of plated sculpture in fire, during which the mercury evaporates, leaving the sculpture golden. The gold used for the face of the sculpture is 24-carat, while the body uses gold of comparatively lower quality. 

Now the only thing left to do is make the sculpture shiny. This process is called buffing. 

Lastly, the face of the statue is painted with normal colors, after which the sculptures are ready for delivery. 

“Some sculptures can be as large as 12ft and could cost anywhere between Rs 6m and Rs 10m.”   

Splitsvilla, a popular Indian reality show, is being adapted in Nepal by AP1 Television. The original show, MTV Splitsvilla, has held millions of Indian youths agog for the last 13 seasons, and now its Nepali franchise is expected to do the same. The program will be shot in Chitwan and it is set to be aired sometime between August and September, with Nikita Chandak and Shrijal Rupakehti as their

For those who do not know, Splitsvilla is a dating reality series where contestants must avoid elimination from the villa by competing in various tasks as pairs and try to find love in the process.

The show will be unscripted to ensure spontaneity, but will follow the guidelines set by the franchise company.

“It will be nothing like Nepali TV audiences have seen before,” says Mohit Basnet, head of business at AP1 TV.  “The show’s contestants come from varied backgrounds from the up and coming social media influencers to your girls and boys next door.”

The contestants were selected following a rigorous process not just in order to ensure diversity but also to make the show entertaining.

Utsab Regmi, the show’s director, says this show is not about finding dancing or singing talents unlike most other Nepali reality TV. “Splitsvilla will have an admixture of people from doctors to fitness instructors to former reality TV contestants,” he adds. “Apart from the winning couple, we also hope to find many new, interesting characters through this show.”

The identities of Splitsvilla residents remain a fiercely guarded secret until now. Though some TikTok users have declared that they will be in the show, Regmi dismissed their claims. “The series participants sign non-disclosure agreements,” he says “The show itself will reveal the contestants.”

The only information Regmi and Basnet are willing to divulge is that there will be plenty of romance, heartache, betrayal and intrigue inside Splitsvilla.

Since we are talking about reality dating shows, there is another niggling curiosity: is it going to be like Blind Date?  The answer is a resounding “no” from both Regmi and Basnet.

“The two shows are completely different. One crucial difference is that Splitsvilla focuses on tasks performed by contestants, not the actual dates between a boy and a girl,” explains Regmi.

Blind Date has made its name for being divisive in nature—a cringefest for some and a guilty pleasure for others.

Splitsvilla, Regmi says, is a well-established popular reality TV franchise, the one that has made its reputation without relying on shock value and scandal.

“This show will not be in any way misogynistic, inappropriate or cheap to off-put the viewers,” he says. “There are terms and conditions that contestants must follow. Inappropriate remarks and behaviors will not be tolerated. Such acts will result in immediate disqualification.”

Besides, Regmi adds, there will be constant presence of professional production crew in the villa.

Indeed, the show producers seem to have gone an extra mile to prevent untoward events by separating male and female residents and mobilizing security guards in and around the villa.

“We have strict guidelines for the contestants as well as the crew members that are to be followed to the letter,” Regmi says.

The ubiquitous singing bowls we see in curio shops at popular tourist destinations in Kathmandu valley are more than souvenirs. So says Hasina Shakya, who specializes in singing bowl therapy. “They are sacred and possess amazing healing powers,” she says.

Shakya is a therapist at Amoga Handicrafts and Healing Bowl Center, located inside the premises of the Golden Temple in Patan, Lalitpur. On this day she was administering therapy on her own husband, who cannot walk properly.

Shakya swears by the healing powers of the singing bowls. “He could not even leave his wheelchair before. But after two years of regular therapy he can walk a short distance with external support,” she says.

Singing bowls—or healing bowls, in therapy parlance—come in all shapes and sizes, and each has a specific purpose. The sounds and vibrations they emanate are said to promote not just mental and bodily relaxation but also to clear energy blockages that supposedly result in illnesses. This healing approach is generally associated with Buddhism, but Shakya says people of all faiths come for therapy.

Patients are usually made to lie supine or sit cross-legged for the therapy, which is sometimes accompanied by a guided meditation session. The bowls are used to produce ringing sound of various tones and lengths, either by a gentle strike of a wooden mallet or by the mallet’s swirling round the bowl’s rim.         

Rajesh Shahi, who runs a small souvenir shop at Kathmandu’s Basantapur, says he has been selling singing bowls and working as a therapist for the past 40 years. Like Shakya, he too is a staunch believer of the healing bowl therapy. “It works wonders, particularly if you are stressed or feeling agitated,” he says.

Shanta Shakya, who practices Reiki, a Japanese form of energy healing, at Thamel’s Dynamic Healing Center, says the therapy is about “sharing positive energy with the clients”. “The therapist can share her own or someone else’s energy to heal her clients,” she adds.

Singing bowls indeed produce a calm, relaxing sound, no one can argue against that. But as for their healing powers, all reported benefits are anecdotal. Why don’t you give it a try one of these days and find out for yourself?