Kagbeni

Genre: Suspense

Cast: Diya Maskey, Saugat Malla, Nima Rumba

Director: Bhusan Dahal

A home production of Quest Entertainment

Showing: In theatres near you

Kathmandu:

The movie starts with a magnificent view of the majestic beauty of the mountains and the breathtaking landscapes around Kagbeni. Krishna (Nima Rumba) has just returned from Malaysia and is heading home. He catches up with his childhood friend Ramesh (Saugat Malla) who is in the business of making alcohol. Krishna has to go to a nearby village to meet his relatives and Ramesh to has to go there to sell the alcohol he has prepared. So, both decide to travel together. On the way while they are resting at night they meet a hermit who gives Krishna a monkey’s paw, which possesses special powers and can fulfil a person’s wishes.

While returning back Krishna provides Ramesh some information that will affect both of them. But Ramesh is not ready to accept the news he has just heard and tries to convert his fate and try his luck by making a wish with the monkey’s paw. Unfortunately, he is unaware of the fact that it has its repercussions too. And so the story moves ahead.

When Bhusan Dahal tries his hands at something new we expect high standard, quality results. He has given us a different movie unlike the usual Bollywood copies that form the Nepali cinema industry. He has well captured the true essence of the place and not let the landscapes dominate the story. The lifestyles of the people, their homes, clothing, food, and business ventures all have been portrayed in a natural way. The humour that has been injected gives it a delightful touch. However, watching the movie at times one does feel that some of the scenes have been stretched more than necessary and seems to drag the movie forward.

Cinematographer Bidur Pandey has done a commendable job and it’s a pleasant treat visually to see the movie flowing from one scene to another blending in the place

and people beautifully.

The story written by Bhaskar Dhungana is an adaptation of the short story The Monkey’s Paw by W W Jacobs, has a lot of superstitious elements attached to it, so it gets a little too weird at some points. Though an interesting story it may not go too well with the masses.

While in the first half all the actors are ok, it seems that they had saved their best performances for the second half of the movie. Diya Maskey proves her mettle as a competent actor especially in the tragic scenes. Nima Rumba and Saugat Malla are impressive, and hope to see them in more movies in the future. And it is Asha Magarati, though limited to a few scenes that catches your attention with her acting.

Kagbeni a home production of Quest Entertainment was predicted to be the movie that would be a turning point in Nepali celluloid cinema. It definitely is different in the way the movie has been presented and the quality with which it has been made.

This movie sets a benchmark for Nepali movies to be made from now on in terms of quality.