Column: Maya To Maya Ho

By: Simran Mody, India Correspondent

The Nepalese may love their movies yet for years have struggled to have a legitimate film industry to call its own.

While going to battle with select Hollywood and Bollywood films such as Avatar and Chandni Chowk To India over a variety of socio-economic-political issues, Nepal has struggled to support its own cinematic ventures, mostly due to dry bank accounts, turbulent governments and a volatile industry infrastructure.

A few Indian filmmakers have attempted to revive the struggling Nepali film industry (known as Kaliwood), with Hindi film star Rahul Roy the most recent “outsider” to ride into town on his white horse with a possible love story-themed production reportedly setting up shop in the northernmost South Asian country.

Now it is Tulsi Ghimire who is himself is riding a white horse on his gallant return to the mountainous kingdom, as the noted filmmaker returns to the site of his last film to make a comeback of sorts with the release of his latest Nepali production, Maya To Maya Ho.

The film opened in Nepal last week.

In an interview with the Indo-American News Service in Kathmandu during the past weekend, Ghimire said he is planning to direct a romance film that will also explore the psyche of the Nepalese both within the kingdom and abroad.

A prodigal son of sorts – Ghimire, 59, apparently has Nepali roots, despite being born in the Indian state of West Bengal – the filmmaker directed as many as 21 Nepali films after he made his debut in the kingdom nation in 1981 with Basuri (“The Flute”).

Along with its 1985 sequel Kusume Rumaal (“The Silk Handkerchief”), other Nepali films Ghimire is credited with include Lahure (“Migrant”), Darpan Chhaya (“Reflection”), Dakshina (“Teacher’s Debt Discharged), and Balidan (“Sacrifice”).

His last film in Nepal was Dui Kinara (“The Two Banks of the River”), which reportedly performed poorly at the box office when it released in 2007.

However, Ghimire is back in Nepal, and this time he hopes to help take the kingdom’s film industry off life support by focusing on the struggle of the country’s native residents and emigrants.

“How do they view the turbulence in Nepal?” Ghimire rhetorically asked of non-resident Nepalese during his interview with IANS on Sunday. “Do they understand the complicated politics? What makes thousands of young people leave their country for greener pastures abroad? Who is this country for? These are the thoughts that had been haunting me, and I have tried to project them in Desh.”

It was in Desh, which opened in the Indian landlocked northeastern state of Sikkim on January 5th, where Ghimire tried to focus on the kingdom’s relations with neighboring countries, particularly delving into Nepali-Indian military relations through the eyes of Nepal’s Gorkha soldiers.

“A close link between India and Nepal has been forged by the respect India has for the Gorkha soldiers, the respect India gives to its Gorkha martyrs,” Ghimire told IANS of Desh.

Now, Ghimire hopes to link Nepal to the rest of the world through cinema, and he does not believe the kingdom’s turbulent politics and equally struggling economy will be a barrier to his efforts.

Specifically, the filmmaker does not believe he is being partial toward Nepal, India, or any other nation in his movies, instead claiming that he has the full support of the South Asian northernmost kingdom nation despite his film’s honest candor.

“Nepal’s governments have always encouraged my work,” he told IANS. “Besides, as a filmmaker, I am neutral. When I think India is to be blamed, I say that, and when I feel Nepal is at fault, I say that too.”

Ghimile went one step further in his interview, saying there is actually a growing pipeline between India and Nepal for film talent, with everyone from technicians to actors and directors making their way to the northern shadows of the Himalayas to help stabilize the Nepali film industry.

He said, despite the apparent divisiveness of politics, the artistic touch provided by cinema will eventually prevail, and a thriving film industry will eventually exist in Nepal.

“Art stays above politics,” Ghimire told IANS, adding some of the best heads in film are from Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong, choosing Nepal as a destination to showcase their creative talents. “Politics divides people, but art should bring them together.”

With Maya To Maya Ho opens in Kathmandu on the heels of last week’s release of Desh in the bordering Indian state of Sikkim, Ghimire hopes he will continue to bring people together and strengthen the presence of Nepali cinema both within the kingdom and abroad.

Starting his film career in Bollywood as a below-the-line crew member, Ghimire’s Desh (“Motherland”) released in the Sikkimese capitol city of Gangtok on January 5th; that film is expected to open soon in Kathmandu as well.

It was a film career that was pushed along by his mentor, Bollywood editor Kamlakar Karkhanis, who challenged the village-born Ghimire to produce ten films in his mother tongue as an ode to his Nepali origin.

With 21 Nepali films under his belt, Ghimire appears to have met the challenge and is now taking on the new challenge of revitalizing Nepal’s film industry.

In general, operating a movie theater in Nepal, since the Maoist insurgency began in 1996, has become increasingly difficult, mostly because of a fuel scarcity and power cuts limiting the functionality of facilities and the ability to take any form of transportation to cinema halls.

A relatively young film industry, Kaliwood is based in the Nepali capitol city of Katmandu and started producing movies for its Himalayan-based audiences in 1951.

However, no productions took place within the country until 1964. After enduring growing pains, Kaliwood experienced significant growth during the 1980s and 1990s.

Then, with the ensuing Maoist revolution, the Nepali film industry took a severe hit. In 2006, when the political situation calmed down and the return of peace became more than just a thought, Kaliwood resumed operations and began producing films again.

In fact, it was recently reported that the government is allowing studios to use more venues within the country for shoots, stimulating the rebirth of once-fallen Kaliwood.

Most Nepali films mimic Bollywood movies with elaborate sets and costumes, as well as several dance numbers throughout the flicks.