I’ve always wanted to entertain people and feel really blessed to be a part of the film industry. This is what I wanted to do in life,” says Usha Rajak, who is acting in the sequel to Kusume Rumal.

For Vinay Shrestha, “Acting is my passion, and sometimes kasto kasto lagchha while working, as you give it your best and others aren’t as dedicated.”

He has a number of music videos to his credit and was last seen in Sano Sansar.

“The silver screen always fascinated me. I always wanted to be recognised. I studied acting as well, and I don’t think I look that bad, so I decided to do movies,” says Raj Ballav Koirala, who debuted in Parkhi Basen.

Others like Namrata Shrestha and Niraj Baral were well known faces in the modelling world and the scripts of the movies, the director and team who knew what they wanted that made them decide to do movies.

Celebrity status

Despite being some of the most well known faces in the country, they agree there is no such thing as a celebrity in Nepal.

“We cannot even remotely identify to the life of celebrities outside — every little thing from queing in a petrol line to getting a gas cylinder, you have to do it all by yourself,” says Koirala.

“Rajesh Hamal and Nima Rumba are the only two people who I feel are celebrities here,” adds Shrestha.

Whereas Rajak opines that one does receive a lot of love and hate, and she enjoys it all the same. “Along with the appreciation, there are people who pass cheap remarks just because you’re an actor. But once you’ve joined in, there’s just no looking back,” she adds.

Dismantling myths

Talking about the drawbacks of the film industry, it is an unanimous answer that it’s the presentation that is not good. Namrata also points to other factors. “The audience has always been used as a scapegoat for making typical formula movies saying that ‘this is what they want’, but it has been proven wrong with the new kind of movies being made.”

Budget is another term that instantly comes up when it comes to justifying the quality of films, however, Rajak feels that even within that budget, a lot of difference is possible and better movies can be made, but said that the need is for good script writers.

“It’s mostly big talks, but when it actually comes down to the work, there are many drawbacks from the ground level itself, like people without good professional background are there. It’s not just one individual who is responsible for it. There are various sectors involved in making a film,” says Baral.

However, Koirala says, “One cannot just take the Nepali film industry and criticise it. You have to look around at the state of things in our country and take cinema parallelly.”

Hopes for change

Sharing his personal experience Vinay says, “After Sano Sansar, we thought it would bring about a kind of revolution. But it didn’t happen. Our work was not much appreciated, even by producers and directors.”

He adds, “Giving 100 per cent to just one movie is not enough. You have to be as dedicated — be it one movie or 10 movies.”

He feels that grooming actors for their roles, providing them with scripts beforehand, holding workshops are also necessary.

“I feel the director and actor should be friends and listen to each other, and film-makers should be a little more liberal — since it’s creative work, more freedom should be there. We are directors’ tools, they should be able to bring out our potential,” says Koirala.

The brighter side

Along with the new crop of actors, even new young, creative directors are coming up, and it is in these new directors that these actors have pinned their hopes on. They are optimistic that movies will be made that will appeal to all.

“The mass already is there, and the recent movies have been able to generate interest among the section that doesn’t watch Nepali movies. So, if we continue to make such movies then there is a huge possibility for Nepali movies to do well,” says Baral.

Rajak confidently states, “We are at a revolutionary stage, and I want to be a part of that revolution. You cannot always wait for someone to bring about a change. I have the ability and would like to contribute some quality work to bring that about that change.”