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The world is divided on Charles Bukowski. Some think he is a literary genius while others think he didn’t write but ranted and that made for bleak reading. There are entire articles dedicated to why you shouldn’t read Bukowski. But then reading is a very subjective affair. What appeals to one might not to another and our reading preferences, much like our tastes, evolve over time.

Which is why I recommend Bukowski to you. When a friend recommended his works to me a few years ago, I was appalled by the use of language and what seemed like a blatant dislike of womankind. But there was no denying that Bukowski was all about ‘quotable quotes’. And that was precisely why I found myself gravitating back to his works despite the initial skepticism over his books. Here I recommend three of his books to help you find out if he appeals to your reading taste or not.

Post Office (1971)

I’m recommending ‘Post Office’ because this is Bukowski’s first novel, published when the author was 50 years old. And this is where we are first introduced to Henry Chinaksi, Bukowski’s alter ego, who makes frequent appearances in many of his books thereafter. His works are considered largely autobiographical. In the novel, Chinaski drifts from woman to woman, barely able to hold down a job and thus living hand to mouth. However, in Bukowski’s randomly crafted world, Chinaski is irresistible to women, despite his crankiness, alcoholism, and misogyny. There isn’t much of a plot but the bits of introspection and the eventual redemption of sorts are what make it a compelling read.

Women (1978)

‘Women’ is Charles Bukowski’s third novel that depicts the highs and lows of Henry Chinaski’s life as a poet, alcoholic, and lover. Besides Chinaski’s drunken antics and sexual debauchery of Los Angeles in the 1960’s and 70’s, there’s not really all that much in Women. After spending many years working in the United States Postal Service, Henry quits his job to pursue a writing career. While trying to make a living selling poems and editing not-so-popular magazines, Chinaski drinks and stares at women. And so, you will read about a series of sexual adventures where each woman is “prettier than the last”. There are plenty of reasons why you could call the writing misogynistic but Bukowski gives you a glimpse of life on the verge of a breakdown, and thus a novel that makes you think.

Hot Water Music (1983)

This short story collection, that reads like a record of obsessions of drinking, gambling, women, and writing, is witty and fun. Wit was never Bukowski’s problem but conveying that in a manner that does not offend often was an issue. The stories here address what the world can do to people and also what people, in turn, can do to the world. A motel room stinking of sick, a decrepit apartment with a perpetually arguing couple, and a bar tended by a skeleton, there’s a lot of morbid and, quite frankly, sometimes downright disgusting narration in this anthology. But that’s also how Bukowski has succeeded in painting a picture of the darkest bits of human existence.

Ever seen those decorative fruits they sell at the home decor section of supermarkets? The lush looking mangoes, bananas, grapes and strawberries all ripe and fresh, ready to be eaten but can’t be relished, because they’re made of plastic. Seasoned cinematographer Hari Humagain’s directorial debut “Sarauto” is like those plastic fruits—all fresh and shiny to look at, but you can’t really enjoy them.

Sarauto is basically the same revenge story that has been perpetuated since the start of filmmaking. The only difference is, it puts a female character at the helm of things. Remember watching a movie where a family is brutally attacked at night and a couple is murdered with their child as the sole witness? The child only manages to see a piece of jewelry the culprit is wearing and years later, sets out to extract revenge from the villain only to frantically search for the person wearing the jewelry first. And convincingly, our hero does find the villain, who apparently is richer and bigger but wearing the same chain?

So while most Nepali movies of late have been facsimiles of 90’s Bollywood hits (or flops), Sarauto takes us directly into the world of Hollywood Westerns, but sadly, it pushes us back to the 60s. Watched “Death Rides a Horse” (1967) and its Indian remake “Zanzeer” (1973) yet? If not, we recommend you do.

Coming back to Sarauto, the movie is based in Simraungadh, Bara and Kathmandu and in a multitude of timelines that span around a decade. Newcomer to the industry Sumi Moktan plays the main protagonist “Vaani”, the prodigal daughter of karate coach “Kushang” (Vijay Lama) who sees her parents get slaughtered and has her tongue cut off in the same incident with a sarauto (a knifelike object used to cut betel nuts.) That’s where the film gets its name.

Repetitive as the story sounds, the audience was expecting a thriller with the largely successful cinematographer Humagain taking over the reins as the director. But the film’s cinematography becomes the only saving grace of Sarauto as it fails in all other departments. The principal photography of the film is almost at par (and heavily inspired) by some South Indian action movies and despite the frequent lapse in continuity and editing glitches, is its best part.

A strong female lead was supposed to be the film’s highlight. But with Moktan’s plasticky expressions and the inability to emote her character’s voice, the speech-impaired Vaani remains voiceless. This is not to take the credit away from her homework in learning sign language and martial arts as well as dancing; it’s just that her screen presence seems forced and unnatural. Even in scenes that could have been absolute tearjerkers, Moktan is not able to make the audience empathize. The film does nothing much to empower women either. It just replaces a traditionally male hero with a female one, without giving much thought to character development.

Character development is missing not only for Moktan. Most Nepali filmmakers are prone to complicating a simple story by lacing it with too many unresolved conflicts and unanswered questions. Sarauto is no exception. It gives way too much importance to redundant characters, making the movie stray from an otherwise simple plot.

In other important roles, we have debutant Sunny Singh (not the one from Ujdaa Chaman, mind you, but our very own Nepali model-turned-actor) as “Bishesh”, Vaani’s love interest. A forgettable debut though, as Bishesh doesn’t even get a decent backstory to explain his awkward Nepali and fluent American accent.

Then there’s this guy who’s named himself “Leo Tank” playing “Jit Jung”, Vaani’s elder brother. Dear Mr Leo Tank, if we ever conducted a public poll on the worst stage names ever, you’d probably come in Top 10.

There seems to be a delusion that over-compensating for one’s weakness will not get noticed. But that’s not how it works. Besides the supporting actors trying their best to fit into the loose screenplay, we can figure out when the filmmakers got too lazy from the repetitive montages used in flashbacks, and when the filmmakers got too greedy with recurring product placement of a cooking oil.

Who should watch it?

The film is a first for many people involved in it. So if you’re that generous person who forgives newcomers and has disposable income and time, please hurry up before the multiplexes remove it entirely.

Director: Hari Humagain
Actors: Sumi Moktan, Sunny Singh, Vijay Lama
Run time: 2hrs 17mins
Genre: Action

Crime fiction
Snap
Belinda Bauer
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 433, Paperback

Belinda Bauer’s novel ‘Snap’, inspired by the murder of a pregnant woman, Marie Wilks, on the M50 in 1988, was longlisted for the Man Booker prize. It’s extremely rare for crime fiction to make it to the Man Booker list. But Snap isn’t a run-of-the-mill crime fiction either. In an interview, Bauer said she was more interested in victims than in crimes and, true to her words, Snap focuses more on the repercussions of the crime, in terms of the impact it has on the family of the victim, rather than on the crime itself.

Set in a small British town of Tiveron, Snap tells the story of 14-year-old Jack and his younger sisters following the murder of their mother. After being abandoned by their grief-ridden father, the three children live in a house stacked with newspapers that carry news of their mother’s murder. Jack’s sister continues to collect the papers in what is a macabre way of holding on to her mother’s final memory. Jack has to deal with the trauma of losing his parents while shouldering the responsibility of keeping his family together. It’s a lot for any teenager but Jack manages to keep the family afloat by breaking into homes and stealing whatever he can. There is a horde of other interesting characters whose lives become inextricably linked by this one unsolved murder.

Bauer worked as a journalist and then as a screenwriter before, at the age of 45, she finally sat down to write a book. Better late than never because Snap has both the edge-of-your-seat suspense as well as the turbulence of an emotional rollercoaster. It’s not just a wonderfully crafted novel about a teenage boy’s hunt for his mother’s killer. Bauer also explores how a single crime has so many ripple effects, and how it can affect different people differently. You find yourself pondering how life has the potential to fall apart and maybe eventually come together.

Bauer said that she had “never read anything that was actually marketed as a crime book” and that she started her journey of writing crime fiction “possibly on a different footing to someone who was immersed in the genre”. You are glad it was that way because what’s come out of it is an intriguing tale of loss, trauma, and familial bond, one that alters the way you view life.

The premise that “Cha Cha Hui” tries to build on is interesting. The film is close to the genre of ‘mindless comedy’, which has multiple characters circling their way in and out of conflicting situations, while making viewers laugh at their antics. Just like the famous Indian director Priyadarshan’s classic movies (Hera Pheri, Hungama, Hulchul), Cha Cha Hui sets the stage for an iconic Nepali comedy, but things get awry somewhere. (We’ll come to that.)

In Cha Cha Hui, Prem (Aryan Sigdel) and Bhola (Bholaraj Sapkota) are inseparable friends living in Hong Kong who come across Shyamlal (Maotse Gurung) in a chance meeting. Shyamlal encourages them to return to their homeland. Shyamlal also hands them a book of poems as a parting gift. Now this is where the troubles begin. A book is definitely not to be judged by its cover—and our protagonists find that a little too late.

Cha Cha Hui then takes the audience on a journey from Hong Kong to Kathmandu to Pokhara and then to Mustang, all the while hiding the truth about the book from them as well as from Bhola and Prem. Of course, Prem has to find a love interest in between as we can’t have a comedy movie without romance and here newcomer Miruna Magar fills the shoes as “Sangeeta,” a local from Marpha, Mustang whose family runs a homestay business.

The movie’s trailer released on YouTube back in October revealed what the film is all about. But, again, you can’t judge a book by its cover, and you certainly cannot judge a movie by its trailer. The three-minute trailer promises a fast-paced laugh riot, but the 2hr 5min film is definitely not as entertaining.

What fails it are mainly its screenplay and direction. Despite being a ‘mindless comedy’, the film’s screenplay is so loose it can’t hold the story together. To make matters worse, it unfolds so slowly that it is almost boring. In fact, Director Samten Bhutia fails to get together one convincing sequence to make “Cha Cha Hui” an enjoyable watch.

Bhutia’s other failure is his inability to get a decent cast. Lead actor Sigdel might be an established star, but his acting skills are still juvenile, even after so many years. This shows when he tries his hand at comedy. Despite his attempts to appear energetic and youthful, Sigdel looks like his former self—stoic, wooden and out of place. Sapkota and Gurung—both brilliant actors—try and compensate for Sigdel’s weakness but there’s only so much they can do with a script as awful as the movie’s “Silky Silky Baal” song.

The supporting cast is an ensemble of new faces who’re are clueless about their real roles. Most of the supporting cast looks like actors who had been waiting for a break, and when their chance finally came, ended up overdoing every scene: they are thus loud, unconvincing and sloppy.

The same can’t be said of Magar, probably the only actor in the film who fits her character like a glove. Magar lights up the screen every time she pops up and to see the newcomer portray the young Thakali girl with freshness and simplicity is satisfying.

Finally, what the movie lacks in screenplay and acting, it makes up in deft camerawork and cinematography. Cinematographer Sushan Prajapati has ensured that the audience don’t blink their eye every time the beauty of the Mustang region is captured. He places the characters on best spots and captures them from beautiful angles. Even regular scenes and spots are captured with much thought to give audience the best possible viewpoints.

Who should watch it?

If not for the average screenplay and sub-par performance, one can definitely watch the movie for its excellent cinematography and, yes, some fitting background music. We are also sure Miruna Magar’s fans (and there are plenty of them for sure) will love to see her on this one.

Rating: 2
Actors: Aryan Sigdel, Bholaraj Sapkota, Maotse Gurung
Director: Samten Bhutia
Run time: 2hr 5mins
Genre: Comedy