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(Dear ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’, on paper I’m forced to give you only five stars. I want you to know that if I could, I’d give you all the stars in the sky.) If you haven’t read Delia Owens’ debut novel, I suggest you drop everything you are doing and curl up with the book. I’m saying this because I regret not doing so when my friend recommended it almost a year ago. He told me it was perhaps the most beautiful book he’d read. And he is a voracious reader.

 I wanted to kick myself for buying the book and letting it sit on the shelf for so long before eventually picking it up. I should have gotten around to it sooner; I berated myself over and over again. Everything about the book is gorgeous—the writing, the setting, the characters, the descriptions of nature and the marsh, and the way the author has woven suspense into the story.

A coming-of-age story of a girl named Kya Clark who lives alone in a shack in the swamplands of North Carolina after being abandoned by her family, Where the Crawdads Sing is a captivating read. Owens is a retired wildlife biologist and she intersperses the story with a lot of information about nature’s various elements, blurring the line between fiction and non-fiction in places. But at no point does it seem like she’s lecturing; nor do the descriptions take away from the story.

Instead, she enthralls and educates you at the same time. Apparently, the book has been criticized for being too trope-heavy. Some say that a courtroom drama can’t exist alongside life in the marshes. But it sold more than four million copies in a little over a year since its publication, foreign rights were sold in 41 countries, and it’s also being adapted into a film being produced by Reese Witherspoon.

Kya is a fascinating and lovable character. She teaches herself to survive in a hostile world and manages to get by just fine. There are some kind people who help her along the way—like a shopkeeper who buys the fish she catches and a boy named Tate who teaches her to read—who reinforce your belief in humanity.

Set in the 1950s and 60s, the book also deals heavily with racism, with a few uplifting scenes like a judge declaring people can sit wherever they want in his courtroom and that those who have a problem with it can leave. It opens with a body being discovered in the swamp and then jumps back and forth between the past and the present to tell a story of loneliness and courage. You will be rooting for Kya all the way through and the end will leave you happy and heartbroken at the same time.

Having watched almost everything (Nepali and bearable) released in the past few years, I was beginning to think that I’d watched them all. The elusive ‘gem’ seemed to be getting rarer and rarer as the resources of Nepali films on YouTube began to expire. I dug a little deep this week though and came across a movie from 2012 that I think is cruelly underrated.

Actor Arpan Thapa writes and stars in the seemingly forgotten “Dhanda”. Directed by Sudarshan Thapa, Dhanda is a revenge thriller molded more on European-style realism than the commercial Nepali action genre. It is not completely arthouse but still a gritty, dark narrative of one man’s struggle against a life-and-death situation and the retribution that follows.

Produced and released around a decade ago, Dhanda has almost all shortcomings of Nepali films from that time. There is CGI that surely didn’t age well, supporting actors who can’t really support their characters, camerawork that falters at times, bad lighting, and jerky editing. The story is not something entirely new or exciting either.

Arjun (Arpan Thapa) is a teacher at a local school in a rural Nepali village. He is living a content life with his spouse (Samuna KC) and parents. But his family, especially his father, expects more of him. Arjun’s father wants him to go to the US and settle there. A reluctant Arjun relents to family pressure and comes to Kathmandu in search of agents to get him a work permit for the US.

In Kathmandu, Arjun meets Mama (Kamal Mani Nepal), a distant relative from his village who takes him to an agency owned by Shanti (Subechya Thapa) and Santosh (Pushkar Gurung). As gullible as he is, Arjun falls into the trap of the shrewd agents who not only swindle him off his money but also have him attacked with the intention of murder. Arjun survives but is severely injured, both physically and mentally. His quest for revenge against all the perpetrators involved makes up the rest of the film.

So what makes Dhanda so watch-worthy, you may ask? It’s the execution of a simple story into a chilling and brutal film. Most of the credit for this goes to Arpan and his acting skills. The actor is a powerhouse in the film and his transition from a simple school teacher to a killer out for revenge is just remarkable. Bearing a deep resemblance to Christian Bale’s Trevor Reznik in The Machinist (2004), Arjun is this rawboned structure whose facial expressions and appearance spell brutality and violence.

With Arpan’s extraordinary acting, director Sudarshan has also done a commendable storytelling job despite some production issues. The film does look budget, even considering the time and context it was shot in, but Sudarshan is able to turn the odds in his favor with a healthy pace and steady rhythm. Told in flashbacks using shaky handheld shots and seemingly limited equipment, the film does not lose its plot anywhere and holds Arjun’s past and present together.

On the technical front, Nima Lama’s makeup is also a highlight. The makeup artist has put every effort and succeeded in giving Arjun the dead-man-walking look befitting his character. Considering the resources available in Nepal, the makeup effects in Dhanda are top-notch and one of the best works in the Nepali film industry in the past decade.

As for the cinematography and the background score, they shine in bits and pieces but do not stand out. At the same time, they do contribute to some of the most brutal scenes in the Nepali film industry’s history.

Who should watch it?

Although based on social issues, Dhanda is not exactly an eye-opener. But it’s still an exciting film to watch, especially with Arpan Thapa’s acting and special makeup effects. Most audiences disappointed with recent Nepali films will probably enjoy this one.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Genre: Action, thriller

Actors: Arpan Thapa, Samuna KC

Director: Sudarshan Thapa

Run time: 1hr 47mins

Trailer: https://youtu.be/aXHXFaMpSSI

Movie link: https://youtu.be/fghzbVAS5yk

Balika Thapaliya is preparing to publish her sixth book. While caring for her in-laws, both in their 80s, and a seven-year-old son at a small village in Deumai Municipality of Ilam district, she has already managed to produce a staggering volume of work. She has so far written more than 3,000 poems and lyrics and translated biographies of several renowned world figures.

Born and raised in a rural village in Terhathum district, Thapaliya started writing poems from an early age. She says it was her father, also a poet and a literary scholar, who encouraged her and her siblings to write a poem. At nine she wrote a poem ‘Mero Desh Nepal’ and her pen hasn’t stopped since.

“I grew up watching and learning from my father. With so many books in the house, I developed an interest in reading from a young age,” says Thapaliya. “My father used to talk a lot about writers and their literary works, so I slowly became attracted to their work.”

In 1997, her first poem was published in Kanchenjunga, a local newspaper of Ilam at the time. She was 12 then. As a teenager, all Thapaliya did in her free time was write poems.

“Writing soon became an unconscious habit,” she says.

She used to take part in school poetry competitions and her poems were regularly published in local papers and magazines. By the time she was 17, Thapaliya says, she had already written over 1,700 poems.

As a little girl, she mostly wrote about her love for the country and nature. But with time, her writings were influenced by the events in her life and human conditions like death, poverty and struggle.

Shankar Lamichhane, Parijat, William Shakespeare and William Wordsworth are among the writers that have inspired her the most.

Thapaliya moved to Ilam after getting married at the age of 20. Her husband is a journalist, so she was never separated from the world of words and letters even after her marriage.

Thapaliya then got her master’s degree in English literature from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.

Before publishing her first book, she wrote columns and articles for various newspapers.

“I wanted to become famous by writing for newspapers before publishing my book,” she says.

In 2013, Nelson Madela, her first Nepali-translated biography, got published. She says she wanted to introduce the book to the Nepali people so that they, just like her, could be inspired by Mandela. Thapaliya went on to publish other translated biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Helen Keller and Florence Nightingale.

Her upcoming book is yet another biography of Nicholas James Vujicic, an Australian American motivational speaker who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome.

“I want to inspire people by presenting the stories of those who have in turn inspired me,” says Thapaliya of her extensive biographical works. “I want to share the struggles of some of the greatest personalities, their moments of failure, and how they overcame them”.

Her original works include ‘Pranayapath’ (a poetry book) and ‘Priyadarshan’ (a collection of love letters). Thapaliya says it took her 17 years to come up with Priyadarshan.

“The book is close to my heart. The perfectionist inside me edited it for 17 years before presenting it to the world,” she says.

Thapaliya, whose love for writing started with poetry, says she writes a little bit of everything these days, from fiction, book reviews to essays.

“I write on issues that resonate with me,” she says.

Having to take care of her family all day, Thapaliya says she finds the time to write at night. She says her familial responsibilities have never hindered her writing.

“It is because of my family that I have come this far,” she says.

Thapaliya is also involved with Karuna Foundation, an NGO that works for persons with disabilities. But she says writing is what she loves most.

“I want to explore other forms”, she says. “I now want to try philosophical and narrative writings.”

She is also planning to translate some Nepali books into English so that they can reach a wider global audience.

Currently, Thapaliya is working on more biographies and another book of poetry.

“I have been writing for more than 26 years now. I want my works to motivate and comfort my readers,” she says. “If they do, I consider my purpose as a writer fulfilled.”

Sanjog Koirala was brought up in a cinephile household. His father was a film producer and from an early age, he had a special connection with the silver screen. No wonder he wanted to be part of the movie industry.

Koirala dreamt of becoming an actor and he got an early taste of acting when he was cast as a child actor portraying a younger version of the character of Rajesh Hamal, the biggest movie star of the time. Koirala went on to act in several other movies before ending his career as a child actor in order to focus on his education. 

But the acting bug would not leave Koirala. His desire to become a proper actor also had partly to do with his mother’s ultimatum. “During my school days, my mom threatened me that if I didn’t become an actor after I graduated, she wouldn't allow me in the house,” Koirala recalls with a booming laugh.

Unlike Koirala’s father, his mother was not professionally attached to the film industry. She was a homemaker who loved movies and wanted her son to become an actor. Koirala would honor his mother’s dream but first he would complete his education—to live up to his father’s dream.

After completing high school in Kathmandu, Koirala left for India to study Chartered Accountancy. That done, he returned home with the goal of breaking into the Nepali movie industry.    

His 2014 debut ‘Utsav’ alongside Saugat Malla, Gaurav Pahari, Prakriti Shrestha, and Menuka Pradhan didn’t do well commercially. Then came ‘Baazigar’ (2016) and ‘Katha Kathmandu’ (2018), which also bombed at the box office.  

It was a sobering experience for Koirala. His passion for film and acting began to sap. “The careers of people around me were taking off while I was struggling in the film industry,” he says.

Koirala decided to reorient his career. He took the advice of his friend to put his film-career on hold and enter business, where his education and business know-how would come handy.

In a short time, Koirala was able to establish himself as a successful entrepreneur. He runs and owns multiple businesses from restaurants, ice-cream outlets to a furnishing company.    

“When money starts flowing in, one’s passion also starts evolving. New doors of opportunity open up,” Koirala says. “I see Nepal as a land of opportunity. Yes, there are many problems here, but for every problem, there is also an innovative solution waiting.”

Koirala also runs the YouTube channel, Ideapreneur Nepal, which aims to motivate Nepali youths into understanding the ins and outs of entrepreneurship.

“People here are open to experimentation and creative ideas. We have a wonderful environment for startups and new business ideas,” he says. “Ideapreneur Nepal gives me a chance to inspire and educate Nepali youths and create a positive impact. That is my way of giving back to society.”

Koirala thinks and acts like a businessman these days and sees creative business potentials everywhere. It is hard to imagine that film is his lifelong passion.  

He says when he decided to take a break from movies, he knew he had the privilege of coming back to acting whenever he wanted because of his family’s film-industry background.

“One thing I have learned in life is when things don’t work out, we should explore other avenues. Take the first step and the road ahead will open up,” he says. “You don’t have to figure out everything about your next project. You only need to take that first step.”