The shooting of the Nepali film Kumari has officially begun. The inaugural ceremony was held on Tuesday morning at Banglamukhi Temple in Lalitpur, attended by the main cast, director, and production team.

Directed by Dinesh Raut, the filming started in the Patan area of Lalitpur, with the aim of completing it within 35 days. Abhishek Khadka and Aakriti Rajbhandari play the lead roles, alongside Ghanashyam Joshi, Sunita Shrestha, Akanksha Karki, Madhu Khadka, Sanam Shrestha, Saku Shah, Saroj Lamichhane, Manisha Sharma, and Bhupi Luhar.

The film is being produced by Mahendra Adhikari under the banner of Binish Entertainment, in collaboration with Picture Frame, with the script written by Bikash Subedi. Earlier, the film had been announced through a poster and cast reveal program featuring a live performance by singer Kehar Singh Limbu and his band Kehar and The Lunga. Limbu also makes his playback singing debut with the film’s song Kata Chhau, which has already gained attention.

The music is composed by Kehar Singh Limbu, Suman Tamang, and Prashant Sibakoti, with lyrics by Sagar Lamichhane Magar, Suman Tamang, and Yuvaraj Kafle.

Director Raut, known for romantic films such as I Am Sorry, November Rain, and Classic, as well as socially themed projects like Parva, Mahabhhoj, Prasad, Prakash, and Pujar Sarki, returns to the romance genre with Kumari.

The film’s cinematography is led by Susan Prajapati, with Kedar Bhusal as executive producer, Ashika Sharma as production designer, and Dinesh Bahadur Rawat as chief assistant director. Riya Adhikari has written an on-screen poem for the film. Other contributors include Royal Bhimsen (Trident Concept) for poster and publicity design, Supreme Parajuli for color grading, Uttam Neupane for sound design, and Kiran Thapa for choreography.