Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu

She teaches singing and dancing at Kantishwori and St Mary’s High School. Before she started her career in Kollywood as an actress she was a teacher at Kantishwori. She has been teaching at St Mary’s for the past seven years and at Kantishwori for more than 20 years. “The children look at me with keen eyes. The kids especially take a second look. They know that they have seen me somewhere but at first sight they are not able to recognise but they slowly get to know me and become closer to me. My class is usually very lively.”

She is none other than your versatile actress — Mithila Sharma — a living legend in Kollywood. Mithila is among many actresses in Nepal who is much appreciated by her audience, so much so that whenever they have problems they seek her help and guidance.

More than a glamorous actress she is called ‘Mithila didi’ fondly. Her roles define how a woman in Nepali society lives. How they are treated, the way they are looked upon and the struggle they undergo. Because of this, her viewers get closer to her as they believe that she would understand their problem and they always her suggestion.

“It might be because I do roles, which are a picture of the reality and many times my viewers call me or even come to meet me if they are in a dilemma or in trouble,” shares Mithila. “I try to help them in the best possible way and my viewers’ trust is the greatest achievement I have received in my career.”

Her elder sister Madhurika Sharma brought her up and she considers her as an idol, she is her mother and father. From childhood Mithila was interested in dancing and used to take part in cultural dance shows and later she pursued a diploma in classical dance from Allahabad, India.

When she was nine-years-old she participated in a programme hosted by Mahendra Police Club to celebrate late King Birendra’s birthday. “I was different from other children of my age. More than playing or indulging in pranks, I was interested to learn dancing. I was a very shy person. I didn’t use to talk much then.” She passed intermediate from Padma Kanya Campus.

Her guru was Rajpal Thapa. “He was my first guru and I learned so many things from him. I learned Kathak from him. Sarita Mam from Bal Mandir used to take extra activities class and I also used to attend her dance class. I learned Bharat Natyam from Mirgendra Man Pradhan.” She is a perfectionist and wanted to excel in dancing. “I felt the need to dance perfectly and wanted to learn and improve.”

Even before she got her SLC she used to teach dancing at Kantishwori and films came much later. The film was ‘Bishwas’ and she got the role of a teacher. Her first take was for the song “Bakhri Bhancha Ba Ba” with other kids.

“Dancing was not new to me so it was an easy task. The song? I had heard it earlier also. One sentence in that song is ‘Nepal Ama Bhanda Pani Ramri Meri Ama’ which was shot on Seti river and it was difficult to dance there. Nevertheless, I wasn’t nervous.” She was seen in the movie for not more than three minutes but she succeeded in winning hearts. “People appreciated me even though I had a small role and I received a good response. Because of that only I am still in Kollywood.”

Till date she has done more than 50 films but she believes that there is still more to learn. “Time still has not come to sit idle saying that I am satisfied with the roles I did. There are still many things to learn. When I say that I have done more than 50 films, it sounds as if I am perfect but I don’t take it that way but what I believe is that I still haven’t done a thing which the future generation would be proud enough to sit and watch.”

Many times Nepali films highlight the pain and sufferings that Nepali women undergo but they seldom focus on the improvement they have made and their power. “They only cast women who are crying over their fate but there is a certain perfection in a woman which is most of the time sidelined. It is because of women that a society is made and home is created and in reality more than a man it is a woman who is powerful but all these are not shown and I think it is high time they start thinking on that as well.”

She is not an ordinary figure now. Being in the limelight she also likes to lead a normal life. “My lifestyle hasn’t changed after I became an actress. I am the same old Mithila. I don’t like to lead a sophisticated life. Instead, I prefer simple and ordinary life.”

When she is not teaching she is acting and when she is not acting she is taking classes. She had always aimed at being one of the best dancers here and with enthusiasm she dedicated her time in grooming her talent but now she thinks that things turn out just the opposite. She couldn’t fulfil her aim.

“I took lot of time to learn dancing but sadly I couldn’t prove my capability. To achieve something you have to know many things. Just knowing one aspect is not enough but here things are different. Some have this concept of not learning everything. They believe in little knowledge. But I didn’t do that. I wanted to outshine and I learnt. Now I don’t want to waste what I had learnt and I teach my students the same art my teachers had taught me. I get satisfaction doing so.”