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This week has been a fearful one, not just because of the rise of the new and updated Omicron coronavirus variant but also because there have been a string of announcements of soon-to-be released Nepali films—and I may have to watch a few of them. “Chapali Height 3” is all set to clash with “Spiderman: No Way Home” on December 17 and, by the looks of the former’s tasteless poster and uninspiring trailer, we know which one will barely make it through the week. And add South Indian film star Allu Arjun’s “Pushpa: The Rise” to be released on the same day and you’ll all understand what risky business is going on in Kollywood with films completed way before the pandemic set to be released now. 

Another “big release” coming soon to Nepali theaters is “Lappan Chhappan 2”, which was initially set for April 9 this year. The star-cast features accomplished actors like Saugat Malla, Arpan Thapa, and the legendary Shiva Shrestha, so it was bound to grab attention. That attention took me to its prequel—the 2017 film “Lappan Chhappan” that’s available for free on YouTube on the HighlightsNepal channel. 

When a film’s sequel is made, one expects the original to be above average. What’s the point of making a sequel to something that’s not successful in the first place? But our filmmakers seem to have a whole different train of thought. I think Nepali film sequels are based more on how much funding the producers can get instead of what the story actually demands. 

But the Nepali gangster movie does give a hint that there’s another film in the making at the climax. Directed by Mukunda Bhatta, Lappan Chhappan is a heist-themed gangster film with multiple characters in the limelight. And when there are multiple actors in a criminal movie, they are bound to collide and double-cross each other to emerge victors. 

Also read: 7 Prisoners movie review: A compelling look into modern-day slavery

So Lappan Chhappan carries the same theme of gangsters, wannabe gangsters, rivals and the police trying to outfox each other. Banka Guru (Saugat Malla) is a dangerous criminal hiding in Belgium after murdering a minister in Nepal. Banka’s associate Chamero Don (Arpan Thapa) meanwhile runs the gang’s operations in Nepal. Baby (Barsha Siwakoti) comes to Nepal and hires a couple of hackers (Devu Shrestha and Sid Kharel) to pull off a digital heist. Meanwhile, Tanke (Dayahang Rai), one of Chamero’s henchmen, seems to have bigger goals than what we are initially given to believe.

Too many characters, including the ones I’ve not named, and too few backstories, were my first thought while watching the film. Right from the start, the film layers up character after character but without the audience getting any time to connect to even one. Like we know Banka comes from a normal middle-class family and is now one of the biggest criminals in Nepal—but how did he get to being that? There’s a small explanation on how he turns out to be eccentric but that is unconvincing as well. Also, the two hackers who play an important role in the film have literally no significant presence even though they contribute to major twists and turns. 

With its weak writing and direction, one can't help but feel for the actors who have tried to put up their best performances but there’s only so much they can do. Lappan Chhappan is mostly shot in Belgium (with some bits in Switzerland) but as the camera is too busy following the characters, the film fails to make use of the aesthetic locations. Might have well shot the whole thing in Chovar and nobody would have noticed.

Who should watch it?

Lappan Chhappan is kind of difficult to like or watch till the end. It’s like watching a toddler draw a landscape. You know what they’re trying to do but you also know they will not execute it well—but you’ll still have to clap for them in the end. Well, that’s what the Nepali filmmakers want us to do and if you don’t mind celebrating mediocrity, you might as well enjoy Lappan Chhappan. 

Lappan Chhappan

Rating: 2 stars
Genre: Crime, action
Director: Mukunda Bhatta
Cast: Saugat Malla, Arpan Thapa, Barsha Siwakoti, Dayahang Rai

The innocence of childhood and newfound thrill of love and attention in teenage years can be exploited by the wrong people. How do you make children and young adults understand the need to report any kind of harassment and behavior that makes them uncomfortable? How do you tell them that they needn’t ever feel guilty about it? That they are never at fault, no matter what anyone tells them? I don’t have children, but this inevitable duty scares the daylights out of me. What if I fail to guard them against the predatory nature of psychopaths? Reading books that deal with sexual abuse makes me nervous—fiction is often a stark reminder of how abuse can often go unnoticed. But it also fills you with an added sense of responsibility to be better attuned to its signs. 

Heavily influenced by Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ and with multiple references to it throughout the book, ‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell is the story of the sexual relationship between a 15-year-old schoolgirl and her 45-year-old English teacher, Jacob Strane. Vanessa, now in her 30s, is being forced to relive what happened to her when sexual abuse allegations are made against Strane by other girls. The problem is, Vanessa doesn’t consider herself to be a victim. For her, Strane was her first love. She lied to protect him when their relationship was discovered during her school days and she has, over the years, been in touch with him every now and then.

Also read: ‘Writers & Lovers’ book review: Finding your footing 

Vanessa blames herself for Strane’s inability to control himself. “I was the first student who put the thought in his head,” she thinks, parroting Strane’s words. “There was something about me that made it worth the risk. I had an allure that drew him in.” Brainwashed into thinking what they had was rare and whatever happened was because Vanessa allowed it, their ‘teacher-student relationship’ never feels like abuse to the victim. Even when Vanessa is uncertain and starts doubting Strane, he finds ways to pin the blame on her and makes her feel guilty—such is the extent of Strane’s manipulation. 

The story feels a bit overwhelming as you can see what the protagonist can’t. You realize how damaged Vanessa is while understanding exactly why she doesn’t think so. Through her story, Russell shows why some women don’t see themselves as victims of abuse and how, because of that, even years later abusers have some form of control over them. My Dark Vanessa, as painful as it is to read and comprehend, is a smart, important book that can be an essential tool to amplify the #MeToo movement.  

My Dark Vanessa

Four stars
Fiction
Kate Elizabeth Russell
Published: 2020
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 384, Paperback 

Mateus (Christian Malheiros) lives in the Brazilian countryside with his mother and sister. Because of his family’s poor economic status, the 18-year-old farm hand decides to leave for São Paulo in search of better opportunities. A local agent picks Mateus up, promising him a decent paying job at a junkyard in São Paulo. In his journey to the big city, Mateus is joined by Isaque (Lucas Oranmian), Exequiel (Vitor Julian) and Samuel (Bruno Rocha), all young boys of his age from the countryside who are driven out by poverty to go find jobs in the city. 

When the boys arrive at the junkyard, they are greeted warmly by their boss Luca (Rodrigo Santoro). The young men, hungry to work and earn, start laboring at the junkyard immediately, hoping to get paid as promised so that they can send money home. At the time, little do they know that they are actually prisoners to Luca who has ‘bought’ the boys through trickery. 

As the days pass and the boys see no pay, Mateus, the most educated of the group who has studied till grade eight, questions Luca on their remuneration. For that, he is beaten up and that’s when the realization hits them. They are now prisoners at the junkyard, forced to live in inhuman conditions, with no chance of help from outside, not even from the police who they find are already in Luca’s payroll. With the help of the police, Luca not only terrorizes the boys but also threatens to harm their families back home.

Recently released on Netflix, “7 Prisoners” is a harrowing tale of modern-day slavery and human trafficking directed by Alexandre Moratto from a screenplay by Moratto and Thayná Mantesso. The Brazilian film chronicles the illegal confinement of hired laborers and their attempts to escape. 

Also read: Gaja Baja movie review: A must-watch Nepali stoner comedy 

As a micro-budget independent film, 7 Prisoners does not have the lavish suavity offered by most mainstream industrial movies. Instead, the film is dark, heavy and applies the musical concept of “less is more” throughout. João Gabriel de Queiroz’s cinematography is artfully gloomy, visually representing the life stories and conditions of the characters in the film. The background music too is subtly sad, adding to our characters’ despairing situation.

But the driving force for the movie are its storyline and screenplay that carry a whirlwind of ideas and emotions, especially around the main character of Mateus. As the smartest of the group, Mateus plans an escape from Luca’s grasp for which he has to join him first. But as Mateus takes Lucas into confidence with his enterprising skills and Lucas begins to show a liking for him, Mateus struggles with the choices before him.

On the one hand, he could betray Lucas and try to escape from the junkyard with his friends—now seven in total with the addition of three. But this means he would be putting everyone at risk and also forfeiting the luxurious life with money and power Lucas has shown him a glimpse of. On the other hand, Mateus could succumb to Lucas’s offer and become a boss on his own. That way, he would be disappointing his friends and damning them to the Hell of slavery for time unknown.

Mateus’s battle with morality, friendship, trust and loyalty make up for an interesting plot in 7 Prisoners. Actor Christian Malheiros, in his role as a naive teenager hardened in no time by violence and despair, puts up a brilliant performance: he is expressive, with both his words and body language, and never fails to make the best of the situations given to his character. Actor Rodrigo Santoro, playing the formidable Luca— cold, unrelenting and malicious—is an antagonist who sends shivers down the audience’s spine. But again, his interactions with Mateus show glimpses of his softer side which is easy to empathize with. The grey areas of the main characters and their effortless acting are the main assets of the film that surpass the need of a big budget or fancy storytelling.

Who should watch it?

By now, it should be a no-brainer that “7 Prisoners” is a highly recommended film for anyone interested in intelligent movies that not only entertain but also inform and leave us asking many questions. 

7 Prisoners 

Rating: 4 stars
Cast: Rodrigo Santoro, Christian Malheiros
Director: Alexandre Moratto
Run time: 1hr 33mins

Warning: If you consider marijuana a ‘drug’ and all those consuming it ‘tyaape’ or ‘addicts’, read no further. This review is not for you. Also, if you believe ‘freedom of expression’ for artists and filmmakers should be subjected to the conservative lenses of a bunch of failed filmmakers and political appointees at the Film Development Board (FDB), go watch the commercial family films released after 2016. 

You can then compare how tone-deaf commercial films with double-meaning jokes and socially embarrassing content pass the board’s notorious radar but a truly witty independent film like “Gaja Baja” gets shredded. Gaja Baja is closer to the reality of Nepali youth and society than most of FDB’s no-objections commercial movies, but who is going to tell them?

Back in 2016, the board had refused to even register “Gaja Baja” as a movie name because (drum roll!) “gaja [marijuana] is a drug and it could promote drug use.” The director, Ganesh Raj Panday, then filed a writ at the Supreme Court and got the decision in his favor. Still the FDB, when approving the film in March 2018, asked all the “vernacular dialogues” to be muted and slapped it with an adult certificate. 

But despite writer/director Panday’s struggles to release the film and all the controversy surrounding it, Gaja Baja proved to be too early for the Nepali audience when it was released in theaters in 2018. Released recently on YouTube, the film’s gradually getting the right attention, and if the hype continues, it might also get that rare “cult status” among Nepal movies. 

Dadhe (Anupam Sharma) and Gorey (Sushil Sitaula) are unemployed best friends who love to smoke pot. The film chronicles a day in the life of this duo that is not only simple-minded but also abandoned by luck. Their mishaps and misadventures as they hustle to get a day’s fix of marijuana make for some hilarious moments. On an old Vespa, Dadhe and Gorey take to the streets of Kathmandu looking for marijuana even as they are pursued by gangster Dhude (Rabin Thapa), whom they owe money.

Also read: The Harder They fall movie review: Retelling a classic story with everything modern 

The film production is a mixed bag of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But as it has already been butchered by the censor board—I think a 120mins+ film was reduced to 80-odd minutes)—we give the ugly a pass and talk only about the good, and maybe a bit about the bad too. The good thing about the film is of course the acting of Sharma and Sitaula as Dadhe and Gorey respectively. The duo of young, lesser-known actors is so convincing it’ll probably be difficult for the audience to see them as any other characters in future movies. 

Then comes the film’s cinematography that brings Dadhe and Gorey’s POVs to the screen. On a screenplay that blows hot and cold throughout, cinematographer Jagopo Raslic and editor Lokesh Bajracharya create a fast-paced series that follow the main characters in their adventures and help the audience relate to their state of mind. A tough task done well. 

Gaja Baja talks a lot about gaja, also giving out stoners’ wisdom at times. And when it comes to the baja part, the music and background score by Nikh & Jata takes you on another high. The musician duo uses a lot of jazz, rock, and the obvious reggae to create interesting soundscapes that aid to the movie’s whole ‘stoniness’.  

Who should watch it?

With Dadhe and Gorey, we get our own versions of “Cheech and Chong.” Movies like Gaja Baja that challenge the norms of Nepali filmmaking are important for the industry’s growth. Too much use of ‘formula’ has kind of infected Nepali filmmaking and when films like Gaja Baja try and break the chain, the audience gets new expectations. Anyways, don’t watch the movie if you’re under 18 or those mentioned at the top. But if you’re neither, Gaja Baja is a must-watch, to enjoy and to support. 

Gaja Baja

Genre: Dark comedy
Rating: 4 stars
Director: Ganesh Dev Panday
Actors: Anupam Sharma, Sushil Sitaula, Barsha Siwakoti
Run time: 1hr 25mins