PLEASANT - Highway to Dhampus

“The best thing in the life is to change.”

photo courtesy:
www.facebook.com/highwaytodhampus

“We look at the sky but we walk on the ground”, says Laxmi to Ajit. She has desires but she is happy and content with whatever she has in the present. The simple, yet complex elements of life such as love, happiness, compassion and gratefulness are the things that Highway to Dhampus has captured wonderfully.

Elizabeth, a rich socialite trying to change her image visits an orphanage in a village in Nepal with Colt, a photo journalist and Ajit, a sincere helpful pilot cum guide cum translator. Laxmi is a headmistress of the orphanage. With their several meetings onwards, they get connected to each others. The series of events then show how they change – change for the better.

Everyone has the ability to change; life is dynamic and changes are bound to happen. Highway to Dhampus is the tale of ‘change’ – how a person can evolve with the emotions.

8 Witty and Meaningful Dialogues from Tin Ekanta

photo: A still from video on background

Tin Ekanta (Three Solitude) is a set of three extended monologues. Three stories Weekend, Dhoop ka Ek Tukda and Dedh Inch Upar of Indian story-writer Nirmal Verma are translated by Aashant Sharma and turned into a play by Anup Baral. Good stories, better performances, attractive set design and lighting, nice music, dosage of humor, a good use of videography on background to support the narration but still, have to deal with boredom. The play, as a whole is just not up to the mark.

Nevertheless, dialogues are utterly symbolic and meaningful. Here are some of them:

1.    It is very unlucky to not being able of getting used to certain habits. Choosing is one thing and getting used to that choice is different, difficult.

2.    When you get old, it gets difficult to sleep at nights. Whether you need 200 grams of worries with 100 grams of tiredness or 300 grams of beer, to get a sleep.

A Bored Evening with Tin Ekanta

Director: Anup Baral

Translation: Aashant Sharma

Story: Nirmal Verma

On stage: Menuka Pradhan, Aashant Sharma, Deeya Maskey, Suraj Malla

(Play is being staged on Theater Village, Lazimpat till 25 August, 2015)

I was eager to watch this play and when I finally did watch it this evening, I feel bad to say that I’m disappointed. I won’t say that play is not good because it has all the good intentions but I, individually, felt it boring. Good stories, better performances, attractive set design and lighting, nice music, dosage of humor, a good use of videography on background to support the narration, but still I couldn’t help but feel bored.

Resham Filili – A Wholesome Entertainer

Movie: Resham Filili

Director: Pranab Joshi

Starring: Vinay Shrestha, Kameshwor Chaurasiya, Karma, Menuka Pradhan, Sisheer Bangdel, Arun Regmi, Ashutosh Raj Shrestha, Laxmi Giri and more.

In my eyes: *** (out of 5)

First thing first, it’s all about entertainment! And this entertainment flick is wonderful, total paisa-wasool. Resham Filili literally makes the audience filili and how!

Resham Filili is the story of two friends, Resham and Hariya, who are common poor men residing in Kathmandu valley and struggling to achieve their goals. As its genre goes comedy, it has a grand package of humor and comic elements, stuffed with the appropriate emotions and sensitivity too. The hype song Jaalma had created for movie is justified, as the movie does not let you down; instead, it refreshes you, makes you laugh out loud and put a pleasing smile on your face.

Plot:

Weak Script for Good Content - Few Nepali Movies

I argue if people tell that Nepali movies do not have a variety of subject matters or good stories because there was, there is and there will be, nice stories with varieties of contents. Nevertheless, I agree when people tell that Nepali movies do not comprise a convincing structure and effective screenplay. Leaving some exceptionally good ones, many Nepali films have the problem in the script.

I want to talk about some movies, which I felt had nice subject matter but failed in presenting them due to the weak screenplay.

1. Shree Paanch Ambare tried to raise the problem of street-children and their life. How they grow up, face the problems, struggle to survive but end up in the street itself due to the circumstances formed the basic storyline. But the way it was executed with very unconvincing and weak plot, unnecessary songs, loud background music ruined the otherwise nice subject. I was completely disappointed with this one. Talents of Saugat Malla and Keki Adhikari seemed wasted.

Mala - A suffered soul

Movie: Mala

Director: Sudeep Bhupal Singh ‘Bobbie’

Starring: Priyanka Karki, Aryan Sigdel, Prajwal Sujal Giri, Sumina Ghimire and more

In my eyes: *** (out of 5)

From the very start, Mala has the feel of the horror movie and it maintains the scary atmosphere throughout the film, however, it is less horror and less thrilling compared to its suspense element. Now, we are not watching the full-fledged horror movie to comment about the horror and thrill magnitude. There are few other horror or suspense thrillers in Nepali movies and somehow they all look same in the setting. But, Mala is a bit different and more than just an average flick; it triggers a serious issue in the unique way of storytelling, thus making it a decent watch.

Plot:

Mala (Priyanka Karki) in a white blouse and white sari with long free hair and sad dark face gets into the woods to hang herself from a tree.

Raghav - Decent Storytelling

Raghav is basically a story of a student studying abroad and his relationships. It is a tale of how one suffers under different circumstances in life to finally realize the true essence of it. Set in America, this movie

has tried to project the complications on screen that one has to face whilst studying in foreign land such as long distance relationships, family pressures, friends, university and jobs during study period, eagerness for green card, etc.

The main thing I loved about this movie is its screenplay that is very close to reality, and

30 Days in September - Intensely Brilliant

By the time, you are done with the play; you will find some sort of shake in your brain. This terrific play will crawl into your mind and reawakens the bitter truths that can be found around in the same society we live in. Directed by Anup Baral, this play by Indian playwright Mahesh Dattani is adapted into Nepali by Aashant Sharma and Bal Bahadur Thapa.

It deals with the post traumatic stress disorder that Mala is suffering from because of the sexual abuse which she got by her own mama (uncle) during her vacation in September when she was 7 years old. Abuse continued every year and by when she was 13, she was used to it, moreover, she was willing to have sex more. This effect haunts her still at her thirty, society labeling her as characterless woman. Mala confronts her mother for why she did not prevent her from abuse but her mother always tells to forget the pain and prays to God, despite knowing the reality that Mala has faced. Deepak enters their life, and