Kathmandu

Two boys looking for their missing hen in the midst of Maoist insurgency have not only won prestigious awards including Critics’ Week in Venice Film Festival, but have also made their way to the Oscars. Nepal has chosen Min Bahadur Bham’s Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen) as its nomination for best foreign-language Oscar this year.

Bham is no less happy as “nomination for Oscars is a big thing despite the fact that it is not much difficult to get selected as official nomination for Nepal”.

“In Europe and America, it is a big thing to get official entry,” he adds, elaborating, “Out of 60 films made in France, 50 are good and very good films do not get official entry. So, in terms of portfolio of a filmmaker, it is a good thing; career-wise it (Oscar nomination) will have great meaning. So, there is excitement.”

When Bham and his team started their Kalo Pothi journey, “we were not that interested in the result — we thought if we enjoy the filmmaking process, we get everything including satisfaction”.

But the film made its way to different films festivals, won awards, became “commercially successful”, received positive response from public, press and distributors — all these things have added value to The Black Hen. But along with these things “we need something bigger for the Oscars” as per Bham.

In the highly competitive foreign-language film Oscar race, 85 countries are in competition this year, Nepal being one of them. These films will be reduced to a shortlist of five, from which one will be awarded the Foreign Language Film Award. For that over 4,000 jury members will adjudge the nominated films and it becomes the responsibility of filmmakers to take the film to them.

“Within one-and-half months (of entry) the 4,000 jury can’t watch all nominated films. So, there is a trend to do private screenings of the film in LA, advertise in media, and send around 2,000 individual DVDs to the judges as they haven’t watched our films,” Bham explains about promotion campaign required for the Oscars.

In this initial phase for promotion “we have to spend around $100,000” and they don’t have funds for that.

So, according to Bham they are looking for partners, producers who can bear the expenses.

Since it will be his first experience at the Academy Awards, “our first target is to reach the first round — that will shortlist 11 films” because “that would create a buzz and our film would be discovered. Money would come, there would be a chance to sell the film in the international market”.

Honest and personal storytelling

Not only the Oscars entry, Kalo Pothi has generated buzz in film festivals across the world along with receiving love from audience and critics. So, what makes Kalo Pothi stand out from the rest?

When the film won the award at Critics’ Week at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, Bham had told THT, “I didn’t try to tell the story. Rather I tried to tell my original story very honestly and very personally so that my first attempt was just to explore myself and exploit totally like a naked child, doesn’t matter what other people say.”

Kalo Pothi, shot in Mugu district of Nepal, captures a story of two young close friends — Prakash (Khadga Raj Nepali) and Kiran (Sukraj Rokaya) — with the decade-long civil war and cast stratification in the backdrop.

Prakash is the lead character, and Kiran reflects Bham. The director did not choose to make his part the lead. “If the director is the lead character, then there are chances of being biased. Everyone has the tendency to sympathise with oneself.”

Filmmaking/writing for Bham is the process to discover things that one is unable to do in real life and certain things Kiran does in film reflect that — “like smoking, which was my desire and is done by Kiran”.

In his honest storytelling, the director has brilliantly portrayed his experiences and societal truths, through moments of humour and tragedy that have been elevated by powerful performances and imagery.

KATHMANDU:  When 13-year-old Khadga Raj Nepali arrived in the Capital from Mugu for the first time, “I was scared seeing the vehicles and tall buildings”, and 14-year-old Sukraj Rokaya was “surprised to see the Valley, it was a much developed place”.

Talking before a mass was a difficult thing for them. Now they both reside here, and study at one of the finest schools and public speaking is not a big problem for them.

The lead actors of Kalo Pothi, they have become celebrities, all thanks to the film that gave them recognition, provided opportunity for quality education while boosting their confidence.

“After the film was released in Nepal, many people started to know us,” says Rokaya, adding, “People asked to take selfies with us... we have taken selfies with so many people”.  And the duo quite enjoy the attention these days though Nepali “disliked it initially”.

They study at John Dewey School, Baluwatar, and the school’s principal Kumar Thapa says, “They have the attitude to learn and improve. And they have made themselves comfortable here. Since it is just around a month, more time is required.”

The school has given them 100 per cent scholarship till they want to study here, adds Thapa.

Both Nepali and Rokaya are happy here. “Back in the school in Mugu, teachers would be sleeping in chairs and students would be playing,” recalls Nepali but “here it is different. We do a lot of extracurricular activities along with studies, and it is good”. He likes Science “though I am weak in it” and Rokaya likes “Futsal and singing the most, which I have been able to pursue at this school”.

One of their friends, 11-year-old Srijal Maharjan says, “We are best friends. I help them in their studies, especially in English, they help me with Nepali.”

Being in this school they have realised “education is a must to succeed in any field” but their dreams of “becoming an actor has not changed”.

“I want to continue studies, after that I will act in films,” says Rokaya while Nepali too wants to become an actor as he says, “We have become addicted to acting now.”

They got interested in acting after the auditions of Kalo Pothi. The casting team had been looking for actors and holding auditions in Mugu. “During the auditions I was asked to do the role of the brother of an ill sister — there was a scene where I had to cry and I cried in real. People liked it and I was chosen,” recalls Nepali.

It was not that straightforward for Rokaya though — his character Kiran was envisioned as someone who could ride a horse. But he lied saying he could ride one. Why did he lie? “If I had not, then I would not be here today.”

They were all set for shooting after the auditions and rehearsals — “certain scenes were difficult and I disliked the night shootings,” says Rokaya. They love their respective characters in the film yet sometimes Nepali would be attracted by Kiran as “his character gets to wear new clothes and I have to wear his old clothes”.

Spending time together while shooting, the duo got closer and since they have become very good friends — “we eat, sleep, study together. We have become like a family,” they say in unison. And they both are aware of their Oscar achievement — “entry in Oscar is a big thing itself” says Rokaya while Nepali says, “It means we have done good performance in the film.”