Currently, Kumar Kattel, aka ‘Jigree’, the director of the upcoming movie ‘Laaj Sharanam’, is busy preparing for the film’s release. Its trailer, posted on YouTube about two weeks ago, has garnered over 1.2 million views. Even so, its OST, sung by Kathmandu Mayor Balen, has over 2.1 million views in just a few days.

Movies are a new forte for Kattel, who has otherwise spent more than a decade working in series. We know him and his team from the popular series ‘Bhadragol’ and ‘Sakkigoni’. But “making a movie is a lot more demanding than a series,” he tells me upon our meeting in Old Baneshwar.

In this interview with the Post’s Anish Ghimire, Kattel discusses the making of ‘Laaj Sharanam’, Sitaram Kattel’s return to acting, and the rise of socially relevant cinema.

What is the motivation behind ‘Laaj Sharanam’? and for how long were you planning the movie?

The idea to create a movie emerged around six or seven years ago. Owing to the popularity of ‘Bhadragol’ and ‘Sakkigoni’, we considered developing a film—the support from viewers gave us that confidence. We even began working on it but could not progress for various reasons, so we set that project aside.

However, a new film idea emerged in the past year. This time, we approached it more thoroughly. Once the script was completed, we started producing ‘Laaj Sharanam’.

In the trailer, we see iconic shots of Dolpa. What made you choose this destination?

After finalising the script, we began hunting for locations. Since the story required a rural location with a beautiful landscape, I had my eyes set on the Karnali region. When I reached Dolpa for the first time during the search, I looked no further. The place is beautiful but underprivileged—that is its tragedy.

The challenge began on the road—the harsh conditions made travelling difficult. At one point, we had to walk for two days to move from one shooting position to the next.

There were about eighty of us on that team. Mules and porters carried our equipment while we walked tirelessly. We made stoppages in villages and lived like the locals. There was no luxury in that life, but it helped us enrich our project.

We stayed and shot the film there for forty days—in total, the movie was shot for eighty days. Even though this sounds like quite a work, I don’t see any other way of having fun.

Apart from Dolpa, we shot in places like Kathmandu and Sindhuli.

Is your team transitioning to movies from series, or will you balance both?

Yes, we will continue making ‘Sakkigoni’ as well. However, balancing series and movies is another risk. It is difficult. Serials come every week, so we shoot every week and prepare back-to-back content. To align that with the effort required to make a film is tiresome. The latter is a new concept for us as well. But despite the labour of balancing these two forms of entertainment, we are determined to do it.

We are in the process of negotiating a new contract for season 4 of ‘Sakkigoni’. Series like this and ‘Bhadragol’ are our foundations, and the audience knows us from there. So, we cannot betray them.

Do you think due to the popularity of ‘Bhadragol’ and ‘Sakkigoni’, people will automatically love your movie regardless of how it is?

I wouldn’t say that because movies and series are vastly different. While making the movie, we were very conscious of the fact that we were not making an extension of ‘Bhadragol’ or ‘Sakkigoni’—we were creating something entirely new. Many doubt our project, questioning whether series makers can make a movie. I have seen people calling the movie ‘Sakkigoni Season 4’ or its large version. But we are completely free of our allegations. Regardless of our series background, we have approached ‘Laaj Sharanam’ with fresh ideas and techniques.

Also, we are not overly confident of our popularity among the audience. We don’t think they will ‘automatically’ love our movie. That said, we used the audience’s feedback on our serials to refine this film. So, we are hopeful that we won’t disappoint them.

Does this movie also mean we will see more of Sitaram Kattel as an actor?

My brother is a versatile actor. His acting, especially that of the ‘Dhurmus’ character, was strongly backed by the viewers. We missed his on-screen presence when he was involved in social work. Fortunately, in ‘Laaj Sharanam’, viewers will see their beloved actor back in action. I feel this is just the beginning of his comeback. Hopefully, we will see more of him.

Now that you are entering the Nepali movie scene, which other movie franchise do you think is your biggest competitor?

None. It’s always ‘us vs us’. We are our own competitors. The many films in the Nepali movie industry are our films. There is no ‘your’ film or ‘my’ film. We are ‘one’ industry. So, I believe in focusing inward and making good content.

As moviemakers and artists, we should support each other as much as possible. More than personal gain, we should look to promote our film industry. Whatever movie does well, it contributes richly to the industry we love. It doesn’t matter if it’s my movie or someone else’s because we ultimately want what’s best for our industry.

For example, the success of ‘Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi’ is also our success because such movies build hope among the audience and increase viewership.

Nepali cinema has made strides in recent years and increased its viewership. What do you think caused this shift?

Nepal is in our blood. We gravitate towards locally made products, movies, songs, and books because they are our identity. But somewhere in the middle, we wandered around, trying to be Western, embracing their cultures, and going off the track. Only recently have people started looking inward and searching for the ‘self,’ and our movies are doing better. We are finding our feet as we turn inward and embrace our culture.

We must also leave something for future generations. If we allow the Western wind to carry us away, our descendants will never come to know our identity. People have realised this and are turning towards Nepal-made creations. This is seen in the movie industry as well.

A while back, we could only hear Hindi and English songs in party palaces and restaurants, but now we hear more Nepali songs of various genres being played.

What, in your opinion, is the demand of the Nepali audience? What do they want to see?

The simple answer is content. People are tired of watching the same thing over and over. They need something new.

I believe ‘content is king’. Today’s audience seeks engaging topics from fresh perspectives while staying true to Nepali heritage. People gather in halls to watch the content, regardless of the cast’s boasting, branding, and promotion. If the former fails, the following elements make no difference.

Why are movies on social issues becoming increasingly popular?

The answer to this question lies in the disappointing leadership of our politicians. Our expectations haven’t been met, and we’ve been repeatedly let down. Issues like unemployment, corruption, nepotism, and political instability have gripped us.

In social issue movies, we see such plight and frustration being addressed. By watching them, to some extent, it feels like our own injustices are being voiced. A feeling of “this movie is telling my story” is born among the audience. Due to this feeling of being ‘seen’, social issue movies are becoming increasingly popular.

Do we also see you as an actor in ‘Laaj Sharanam’?

Right now, I am strictly the director and filmmaker. I focused on making this movie appealing, and I hope the audience will see and appreciate our hard work. Ever since the dawn of ‘Bhadragol’, our viewers have supported us, and I hope we will receive much of the same moving forward.