KATHMANDU: Veteran actor Rajesh Hamal took to social media in an attempt to put an end to the controversy surrounding actress-director Deepa Shree Niraula in relation to her questioning the 'Mahanayak' titled bestowed upon him.

Sharing a video on his Facebook on July 14, he urged the public "to be positive and forgive the person concerned".

The ‘Mahanayak’ debate erupted some two week ago when Niraula questioned the tag in an interview. She received a lot of online hate and it does not seem to be stopping anytime soon.

In the video, Hamal is seen requesting his audience and public to “be positive and forgive the person concerned (he has not taken Niraula's name) for the sake of cine field of the country and humanity”.

He hopes and expects they will create and give an easy environment for artistes to move forward as well as positive feedback to “inspire artistes”.

Observing that "a kind of anger is going on for last two-three weeks” after a colleague/artiste aired her views publicly, Hamal expressed his sadness over the debate amid the crucial time of COVID-19.

He then questions whether it is right to give the kind of feedback that brings harm, attacks and wounds the humanity of that person for views expressed publicly.

Adding that he has the tolerance to pay no heed to such expressions but ignore and move forward with his work, he says, "I got that tolerance from the energy given by you (audience)” — underscoring the importance of the audience in the making of art and artistes.

“That is why you have a big role in it. So, I want to request my audience and public from the bottom of my heart to be open, ponder on the bigger picture and express one’s views in positive way without harming one’s humanity.”

You can watch Rajesh Hamal's video here: https://www.facebook.com/rajesh.hamal.5872682?ref=br_rs