Show Some Love to Kollywood!!

Ah! The movies! They’re my favourite pastimes. (Also read:  top 150 movies of my choice) That’s the only thing you can do so quick which makes you feel like you’ve done so much. A good movie will take you places, show you the ends of worlds you’d never known, open new horizons to you, make you laugh/cry and touch you in your minds and hearts. As a long time movie buff, I watch movies from everywhere almost. My favourite movies include all different kinds of Hollywood movies to all kinds of movies of different languages such as CITY OF GOD(Portuguese) and THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES(Spanish) and GURU(Hindi) and A SHORT STORY ABOUT LOVE(Polish) and the list goes on…

            So basically I’m a movie slut! And obviously I have my Nepalese favourites such as Basanti, Himalaya, Numafung and umm…… As for everyone, we have had so many bad movies in Kollywood, we don’t even remember it exists. But things are slowly getting better it seems. With the rise of new stars, technologies and developers, things have been changing under our noses. Of course there are still movies like this:

(where we wonder "what were they thinking?")

And there are movies like these who invest lot of money and now are looking better but not exactly getting anywhere. 

Also FYI, last year a Nepalese movie set a new record! By not selling a single ticket even after a month of release date. The dim-witted director was interviewed and he said he was thinking about changing the name of the movie to Nepalese language. That movie, one of the really low-grade Kollywood movie had an English name and that was the excuse director used. (I tried hard to remember the name but couldn’t. I’d like to know if you know.) :P

Though the reason I wanted to post this blog was not to make fun. There’re some good momentum going on in Kollywood and it is starting to get praise from especially the younger generation. This is a good thing and we should all at least notice. Low budget movies like Sano Sansar though not your grade A hollywood/bollywood flicks are at least watchable and they also have done good in the box office.

Here’s some notable movies you should keep an eye on:

a)    Dashdhunga

Based on a true story about the controversial death of communist leader Madan Bhandari in 2050’s in a jeep crash in a place called Dashdungha and the shootout of the driver of the jeep in the 2060’s in Kirtipur. Looks very promising. Good reviews coming from everywhere. Showing now in cinemas including shows in UK and USA.

b)    Goodbye Kathmandu

According to its facebook fan page, “Goodbye Kathmandu is based in the changing Kathmandu, a city that is metropolitan but has often been termed overgrown town. This feature-length film explores the lives of three young men who are caught in the political upheavals and throes of globalization in Kathmandu.” One of the most anticipated movies of the new times starring Malvika Subba, Karma and Sauram Raj Tuladhar. Directed by Nabin Subba, acclaimed director of movies like Numafung.  Reportedly the movie shooting is nearly complete and as with everything the release date been pushed around(Nepalese Time :P)!

c)     Sick City

Directed by Murray Kerr and also having managed to win the Best Nepali Film title in the KIMFF in 2010, this movie though hasn’t been acknowledged by the Nepalese media much just like other good Nepalese movies such as Caravan , Mukundo and so on(They all went on and won awards internationally. Sometimes I wonder what Nepalese media people look for!!). Expected to be Kollywood’s big break like Slumdog Millionaire, this movie may not look like much but will surely be a good return of your money. Shot in a mere budget of 3000$, this movie shows how Nepal has so much possibilities and we have just been trying to copy shitty Bollywood flicks as closely as possible.

d)    The God Lives in the Himalayas

Stars our very own beautiful Malvika Subba again along with other Kollywood stars. Dubbed in Hindi and was relatively successful in cities like Bangalore. Personally much expected movie by me but went pretty much unnoticed in Sydney. (They were supposed to show the movie in a small suburb called Beverly Hills like GodKnowsWhereThatPlaceIs.) But was shown/was supposed to be shown in a lot of different cities around the world including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Dallas, London and so on.  

e)     Sano Sansar

At last my recommendation. Not a great movie but an ideal example of a movie to Kollywood. Cheap, simply told, closer to real life, no bullshit! Though sometimes achingly slow-paced(for instance Nir Shah's character) and some technical glitches, a fairly good movie. I like to think that this movie defines coming of a new age in Nepalese cinema. Of course there are movies like Kohi-Mero, Mero Yeuta Sathi Chha and so on but i haven't mentioned them here because they represent a smilar genre!

            I think I’ve proved my point. Try and go watch a Nepalese movie for change. They might change your perception. Most of the movies I mentioned are showing/will be showing in most of the major cities in the world. They need our support. Last year, India-based Big Cinemas(The modern cinema halls in new City Centre Complex) had reportedly said they won’t show Nepalese movies in their cinema halls. That is a shame. Expect very less when you go to watch the movie. Then you might be surprised. Show them some love. At least they’re trying!