For most of 2020 and 2021, movie halls across the country remained closed, and during the brief periods when theatres reopened, people avoided them. But by early 2022, Covid-19 had already started losing its grip, and life began returning to normalcy and people started heading to the cinemas, giving the Nepali film industry a much-needed respite.

Most of the films released this year were set to hit the theatres in 2020.

According to the Film Development Board, out of the 42 films released this year, only two films, ‘Mahapurush’ and ‘Kabaddi 4’, were commercially successful.

The beginning of the year itself saw the release of a wide variety of films like ‘Kathputali’, ‘Chapali Height 3’, ‘Ma Yesto Geet Gauchu 2’, ‘Lappan Chhappan 2’, and ‘Chiso Ashtray’. Here’s a lookback at how the Nepali film industry fared this year.

Nepali films go global

In late April, Nepali filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah’s short film ‘Lori’ was selected for the Short Film Palme D’or category at the 75th edition of the Cannes Festival. At the festival, the film won the jury’s special mention, the first ever for a Nepali film. ‘Lori’ helped put Nepali films out there on an international platform.

The year also saw a mainstream Nepali film transcending boundaries. ‘Prem Geet 3’ was dubbed in Hindi and released in India.

Focus on off-beat cinemas

Unlike previous years, only a handful of Nepali commercial films were released this year, and most of the Nepali movies that made it to the theatres were off-beat films. The stories of these movies were grounded in reality. And many of these unconventional films seem to have gained inspiration from Italian Neorealism. This film movement took place post-World War II, bringing out the stories of working-class people with non-professional actors.

The year’s off-beat films like ‘Prakash’, ‘Dokh’, ‘Paniphoto’, ‘Secrets of Radha’, ‘Chiso Maanchhe’, and ‘Chiso Ashtray’ told stories of the struggles faced by the common people, be it during the aftermath of the Maoist insurgency or the 2015 earthquakes.

But except for ‘Prakash’ and ‘Ainaa Jhyaal Ko Putali’, most of these unconventional films didn’t do well at the box office.

“The years 2020 and 2021 were both distressful years, and in 2022, when people headed to the movies, they wanted an escape,” says Prashanna Mali, an independent film critic. “Perhaps this is why superhero films and South-Indian movies did very well here in Nepal and abroad.”

Sheenless stars

This year’s star-studded films like ‘A Mero Hajur 4’, ‘Samhalincha Kahile Man’, and ‘Babari’ were expected to do well at the box office, but they didn’t do well.

“Until this year, we had never seen films that featured stars like Anmol KC, Dhiraj Magar and Pooja Sharma not do well at the box office,” remarks Mali.

In the past, these actors pulled the masses to theatres, but that didn’t happen this year, adds Abhimanyu Dixit, filmmaker, film critic and columnist for the Post.

However, films like ‘Kabaddi 4’ and ‘Mahapurush’ did exceptionally well at the box office.

Year of disputes

Halfway into the year, several Nepali film industry members started alleging that multiplexes were not giving Nepali films prime time slots, which they said were being assigned to international films.

The issue was first brought to light during the release of the movie ‘Prakash’ by its main lead Pradeep Khadka.

Representatives of multiplexes quickly denied the allegations and said that they were unsure whether people wanted to come to theatres and decided to play safe with the schedules.

“We do not divide the schedules prioritising Bollywood or Hollywood movies. We design our show schedules based on the films available and the response they have been getting from the audience. It is the audience’s demand that we keep in mind,” says Prashamsha Pandey, general manager at the QFX cinemas.

The Nepali film ‘Mahapurush’ did better than Hollywood’s superhero film ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’, and we scheduled accordingly, added Pandey.

The year ahead

With the back-to-back release of commercial films like ‘Timro Mero Sath’ and ‘Chakka Panja 4’ in the upcoming year, it seems that the year 2023 will mark the industry’s return to focusing on commercial movies.

“Yes, it does seem like a lot more commercial movies will be released in the coming year. But I believe this, too, is necessary to maintain the ecosystem. At the end of the day, commercial movies do good business and keep the industry running. But that doesn’t mean Nepali films should stop experimenting,” adds Mali.

But the prospects for off-beat movies also seem promising.

“All the Nepali films that were able to go in the international film markets will either release or commence shooting this year,” says Dixit. “Deepak Rauniyar’s ‘The Sky is Mine’, Abinash Bikram Shah’s ‘Elephants in the Fog’, Sahara Sharma’s ‘My Share of Sky’, Pooja Gurung and Bibhusan Basnet’s ‘The Whole Timers’, and Pasang Dawa Sherpa’s ‘Kuhiro Pariko Sahar’ are films to look forward to.”