At a time when Nepali movie lovers have begun showing up en masse to Nepali films screened at multiplexes, three much-hyped movies are currently in a three-way competition to rake in the Rupees at the box office. 

The theatre houses around the country are currently screening three Nepali movie: Saayad 2 (released on July 14); Dhanapati (released on July 7); and Ma Yesto Geet Gauchhu (released on July 14). 

According to box-office analysts, the latter has now taken the lead at the box office with a weekend of promising returns. Early estimates show Ma Yesto Geet Gauchhu, four days into its release, has amasssed north of Rs 25,000,000, while Saayad 2, another movie to release this weekend, have amassed a meagre Rs 3,000,000. While the Deependra K Khanal-directorial Dhanapati has grossed over 16,000,000 in its two week stint in theatres. 

“It has been a ‘bumper’ business,” said Gopal Kayastha, a film distributor, speaking about Ma Yesto Geet Gauchhu. “The crowd was unprecedented on Saturday, 

probably one of the highest turnovers in a day this year.” 

Likewise, theatre houses in the mofussil also saw a similar response from the audience. Manoj Rathi, the mofussil distributor of the film Ma Yesto Geet Gauchhu, said, “Halls across cities like Chitwan, Pokhara, Butwal, Damak, Birtamode and Dharan have all seen a considerable turnover. This kind of returns is rare feat for a Nepali movie, something that happens maybe once or twice a year.” 

On Sunday, Ma Yesto Geet Gauchhu cast and crew, including director Sudarshan Thapa, actors Paul Shah and Pooja Sharma, visited Kathmandu’s theatre houses from early dawn, which too boosted the film’s performance, analysts said.