As good as a Nepali film gets
‘Saili’ is a rom-com dealing with the social repercussions of foreign migration in rural Nepal. Based in a beautiful village in Kaski, director Ram Babu Gurung (‘Kabaddi’, ‘Kabaddi Kabaddi’, ‘Purano Dunga’) has once again aced a rural theme. Saili is exactly what cinema should be: a piece of art.
It is a feminist movie while not screaming of forced “Naari Shakti”, basically a tale of a Muna who falls in love with the wrong Madan.
The movie opens with two men and a woman inside what appears to be a ‘bhatti’. They are both husbands to women who are away on foreign employment. They go on a misogynistic rant about the soul-crushing reality of having to live at their wife’s expense, when the Sauni promptly reminds them who pays for their alcoholic life. The scene then contrasts to a face of a young woman navigating Tribhuvan Airport, cautious in her steps and innocent in her emotions.
And with a quick scene transition we travel back. The story starts with Saili (Menuka Pradhan) and Sunita (Kenipa Singh) sitting beside a river when Saili loses her slipper to a wave. Following the route of the slipper, Saili meets Pitambar (Gaurav Pahari) and his friend Birman (Dayahang Rai), who are both bathing downstream. Pite is instantly smitten by Saili. When asked for the slipper, Pite refuses, upsetting the women who then head home.
The male duo are then on a quest to woo the two women and head to Saili’s home on the pretext of giving back her slipper. After a rather awkward conversation with Saili’s father, who happens to be a lender to his own father, Pite plants a love letter inside one of Saili’s shoes. He writes of his feelings and proposes a date over ‘Jhol Momo’. Saili, with a knack for romance novels, is instantly wooed. For his part, Dayahang Rai or Bire, with his typical ‘bango humor’, keeps the tone of the movie light.
And there are plenty of other light moments. In one notable scene, Sunita can be seen taunting Saili that she might take away her lover because “Ajkal ko Madan lai Muna haina Munni chaincha” (No, we won’t even try to translate that). The entire movie hall thunders with laughter.
The romance borrows elements from Nepali rural society—indirect approaches to romance, reluctance to public display of affection, inability to express love with a straight face. The Pite-Saili affair progresses steadily until Saili’s father gets a wind of it. He senses a ploy by Pite to null out his father’s debt by marrying his daughter. Time and again, Pite is reminded to pay off his father’s debt, and even offered a job oversees by an ex-wardman.
By and by, Saili’s father fixes her marriage with someone else. Pite’s father in turn suggests he elope with Saili. “Everything is fair in love”, his father says as the audience go wild again. On a rainy evening, Pite arrives at Saili’s, with Bire in tow, to rescue his princess. The three run away.
To pay off his father’s outstanding debts, Pite then decides to go abroad. But as luck would have it, Pite is denied a passport because of the unrealistically similar looks between Pite and his father.
After the middleman (the ex-wardman) proposes Saili go abroad to work instead of Pite, the movie takes a melodramatic turn and the misogyny of the lead male character comes in full display. The proposition hurts his male ego and he is mad with anger. Nonetheless, in having to make this tough decision, Saili can be seen as representing all Nepali women working abroad to feed their family back home.
The filmmakers could have done more justice to the character of Saili by giving her more screen time and delving more into her struggles abroad. And the only problem with storytelling is towards the end, when the filmmakers try to whitewash Pite’s previous actions.
The musical score is fantastic at the start. But as the movie is filled with many renditions of the Saili song, it feels super-repetitive and loses its charm. There are also some noticeable faults in sound mixing. Of course these are little things on the grander scale. But when you’re watching a movie this good, you’re only left with breadcrumbs of criticism.
Who should watch it?
Fans of Ram Babu Gurung’s rural storytelling. You don’t need to watch ‘Saili’ just to support the Nepali film industry. First, it’s a good movie, and only then a Nepali one.
Movie: Saili
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Cast: Gaurav Pahari, Menuka Pradhan, Daya Hang Rai, Kenipa Singh
Direction: Ram Babu Gurung
Rating: 4/5
A snapshot of modern Nepali state
In ‘Essays on Nepal: Past and Present,’ Sam Cowan brings to the analysis of contemporary Nepali history and society a rare incisiveness and depth. Most of 19 essays in this volume have already been published in various outlets, and an avid follower of Nepali history and politics would have relished them. Even so, in bringing them together in one volume, Cowan helps us form a useful mosaic of the evolution of modern Nepal and Nepali nationalism, and better understand the country’s recent journey from war to peace.
Travelling to Nepal regularly after his 1994 appointment as Colonel Commandant of the Brigade of Gurkhas, the titular head of Gurkhas in the British Army, and being in regular touch with the reigning Nepali monarchs of the time, Cowan had over the years gathered an acute understanding of the functioning of the modern Nepali state, most notably the post-1990 leg of its long and painful transition from absolute monarchy to full democracy.
This gives Cowan remarkable foresight. As a battle-hardened ex-soldier, Cowan was able to predict how the government-Maoist conflict would have no clear winner and was headed for a stalemate—this, in 2005-06, when many were forecasting a decisive victory for the state following the full engagement of Royal Nepalese Army in the war.
While the Maoists were ill-equipped for an all-out war, Cowan argues, the RNA was fast losing ‘hearts and minds’
While the Maoists were ill-equipped for an all-out war, Cowan argues, the RNA was fast losing ‘hearts and minds’ with its brutal anti-insurgency tactics. Another path-breaking essay in the volume explores Maoist military tactics during the insurgency: for instance, how they prepared for, and learned from, each raid.
Another set of fascinating chapters juxtaposes Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher’s 1906 visit to Great Britain with King Mahendra’s 1960 visit. Chandra Shumsher was successful in finagling an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford from his obliging British hosts. But King Mahendra was unable to do so, much to his visible chagrin.
Cowen digs into rare Bodleian Library records and National Archives in Kew, London, to give new backgrounds to these two visits, including the doctorate debate. The subtle differences in the treatment of the two Nepali rulers in the UK was, for one, reflective of changing British interests in the pre- and post-colonial worlds.
Other chapters deal with the upshots of old geopolitical rivalries in this ‘cockpit’ of Asia—encompassing topics like Kalapani, Khampas, border firing, infiltration, etc.
Whether Cowan is writing about the Anglo-Nepal war, the civil-military relations, the systemic corruption in government agencies in Nepal, or about one of his countless treks through his beloved country, he brings great insights as an astute outside observer. Again, there is military precision in the writing, the writer’s ability to separate noise from the essential evident in each essay. Now living a retired life, Nepali watchers will be waiting for more from Cowan-the-writer.
Essays on Nepal: Past and Present
Sam Cowan
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Himal Books
Price: Rs 990, Pages: 362
Punching below its weight
“Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota” (‘Men don’t feel pain’) is a literal rendition of this common cliché about men. Born with a rare ‘congenial insensitivity’, a man literally feels no pain. The movie is about how he turns this diagnosis into his strength as he learns martial arts and hunts down muggers. It’s an intriguing concept, and yet you may be disappointed if you go with high expectations. The film starts with Surya (Abhimanyu Dassani) in his full maroon tracksuit ready to fight a bunch of goons. As they approach him, he has flashbacks of his entire life: how he learned to handle his ‘gift’ of feeling no pain, how he was bullied for it throughout his school life, how he then found his love Supri (Radhika Madan) who was always ready to fight bullies for him, how he grew up with a strict father and an eccentric grandfather, and how, amid all this, he learnt martial arts by watching scratchy VHS tapes.
It is while watching films in his childhood that he comes across ‘Master Mani’, his Karate Guru, and later across Jimmy, Mani’s evil twin and his nemesis. The whole movie is a comic-book style action-comedy filled with flashbacks.
Even though the plot could have been better, most characters do justice to the storyline. Dassani, who debuts in Bollywood with this film, portrays Surya well. His comic timing is good and his character is a brilliant portrayal of how it is like growing up with two very different guardians.
Who should watch it?
If you like action films, this one is packed with interesting, well-directed fight sequences. But keep your hopes low.
Radhika looks comfortable in her role as Supri, especially in action sequences, with her hair flying and legs kicking. Some of the best parts of the movie are when Supri and Surya are small, the actors emoting their child-like innocence near perfectly.
Radhika however falters in emotional scenes, when she has to show the struggle of growing up with an abusive and alcoholic father. Her stilted dialogues are painful to watch as well.
Writer Vasan Bala could have done so much more, with the movie dealing with such powerful themes as domestic violence, alcoholism, bullying, and toxic masculinity
Writer Vasan Bala could have done so much more, with the movie dealing with such powerful themes as domestic violence, alcoholism, bullying, and toxic masculinity. As it is, the movie is flat and fails to touch any of the audience’s emotional buttons.
Yes, Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota is unpredictable and the director handles the material he is given rather well. But, again, the plot is still too slow. When the film is over, you realize it did not have much to say and was exhaustingly repetitive. Some action and comedy sequences stand out but it is not a movie that will stay with you.
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Movie: Mard ko Dard Nahi Hota
Genre: Action/Adventure
Cast: Abhimanyu Dassani, Radhika Madan, Gulshan Devaiya
Direction: Vasan Bala
Rating: 2.5/5
Horror show
‘The Man from Kathmandu’, an action thriller written and directed by Pema Dhondup, follows the story of Faizal Mustafa (Jose Manuel), a disaffected half-American-half-Nepali half-Hindu-half-Muslim man. He is in Kathmandu in his quest to find out if his jihadi fighter father has joined the war in Syria. The movie opens with a Dhaka Topi-clad Mustafa in an interview room at the American Embassy in Kathmandu. A Darth Vader-ish robotic voice comes from the other side of the glass (signaling the interviewer) which immediately puts you off. This sets the stage for a series of disappointments to follow throughout the movie.
The movie then takes you to a beach in Los Angeles where a couple of bystanders park their vehicle behind our hero’s. When Mustafa asks them to move their car, they make racist gestures and we are presented with our first action sequence.
By Nepali standards, the action sequences are good enough and Jose Manuel can be seen making the best of his martial arts skills, knocking down goons armed with hammers and screwdrivers with his bare hands and feet.
But who is Mustafa? There is a flag of the Islamic State over his bed. He can also be seen communicating with people who supposedly know the location of his dad. While in LA, Mustafa is arrogant, and takes every comment as racist and frequently lashes out at strangers. After a series of communication, Mustafa finds himself back in the country of his origin. We are then presented with our two antagonists: Panditji (Hameed Sheikh), a high-ranked Hindu priest, and Abu Miya (Gulshan Grover), a rising politician. From this point onwards, everything goes in a downward spiral.
While walking around town, Mustafa finds Namrata (Anna Sharma) getting harassed by a local goon connected to Abu Miya. He fights off the goon, and soon finds himself in a maze of criminal, social and political conspiracy in his grandfather’s life, and himself tangled in everything from local politics to US foreign policy. The story sounds or at least gives off a great vibe, right? I thought so too.
The film looks to mesh an already complicated genre of action with an even more complicating mix: that of politics, romance and religion. While it does some justice to its action genre, it fails in every other aspect. The politics is all over the place, with unexplained plots and inconsequential actions resulting in monumental consequences. The Hindu religion, meanwhile, is presented as a mantra-spitting, soul-possessing endeavor.
The movie tries to unrealistically link the Islamic State recruitment camps with Panditji. The transition is weak and so is the flow. In one scene, Namrata is oblivious about Faizal’s work and in the next scene she starts to blame him for everything. The dialogues are sub-par and the script does not align with what is being shown. Mustafa is seen wearing a normal hoodie with a small beard when a character says he has changed a lot, perhaps hinting of him turning into a Muslim, when, in fact, Mustafa’s get-up could be compared to any beard-sporting teenager in the world.
The cinematography also needs a lot of work. Many scenes are out of focus. Other than that, the film is technically sound—color grading is dynamic and the video quality also trumps that of other Nepali films.
With a plot this complicated, the filmmakers should have done more research. It appears the movie plot was copied from the first line of Wikipedia, with no understanding of the subjects that complicated.
The Man from Kathmandu is branded as Nepal’s first international movie. With star cast from all over the world, it could have been so much better. As it is, the movie looks like a product of a bunch of good-looking cultural exchange students with expensive camera gears doing a school project.
The best thing about the movie is that it ends. It is a 1 hour 47 minute movie that is 1 hour too long 47 minutes too boring. It is so bad it gives a good name to every other movie out there.
Who should watch it?
No one
By Nepali standards, the action sequences are good enough and Jose Manuel can be seen making the best of his martial arts skills
Movie: The man from Kathmandu
Genre: Action/Drama
Cast: Gulshan Grover, Hameed Sheikh, Jose Manuel, Karma Shakya
Direction: Pema Dhondup
Rating: 1/5
