The Maithili version of Rajja Rani premiered to a positive response in Janakpur. The movie hit screens nationwide on Friday. In most parts of the country, the film is being screened in Nepali, but in a novel move, select cities in the Tarai will see the dubbed Maithili version screened instead. 

Many of the native Maithili speakers welcomed the decision, which became even more evident when the lead actors, Keki Adhikari and Najir Hussain, were received with a warm welcome in Janakpur. Both the actors were taken around the city in a chariot flanked by a large crowd. 

The decision to dub a Nepali film in Maithili is a rare occurrence in the Nepali film industry. Alongside promoting an indigenous language through a movie, it also has become a precedence for future film makers that a Nepali film can succeed in a regional market, if it is appealing to the local taste. 

At a time when regional and indigenous films are struggling to even get to theatre for screening, the screening of the Maithili version of Rajja Rani comes as a welcome move. In September last year, Mairinmo, a Gurung-language film, was released in Pokhara, the first time in years that an indigenous film saw regular screenings in commercial theatres. Prior to this, indigenous films were by and large limited to film festival circuits and charity shows.