KATHMANDU: Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, along with United States Ambassador to Nepal, Alaina B. Teplitz, today launched Singha Durbar, a Nepali political television drama.

Singha Durbar features celebrated Nepali actress Gauri Malla as Nepal’s first female Prime Minister and supporting actors like Bhintuna Joshi and Alok Thapa as the Prime Minister’s secretary and a blogger respectively.

The half an hour long teleserial will air every Sunday evening at 8:50 pm on Nepal Television from November 15.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Teplitz said, "Singha Durbar is about more than the novelty of a female Prime Minister.  It’s about the day-to-day truths of a thriving democracy -- partnership and collaboration between citizens and their leaders."

Tsering Rhitar Sherpa, director of the serial, shared, "Singha Durbar uses an entertaining drama format to show politics from the vantage point of Nepal’s political leaders.  We want citizens to feel some empathy for politicians who are making difficult decisions, reveal the complexity of real-life issues, connect people to their political system and encourage a sense of responsibility so they engage with that system.”

"Each episode has been thoroughly researched and covers issues that touch the lives of the Nepali people from climate change to healthcare,” said Abinash Bikram Shah, lead writer of the drama.

“Our hope is not only to deepen understanding of Nepal’s evolving government, but demonstrate how citizens can get involved in the process," added Shah.

The 13-episode series is funded by the USAID and produced by Search for Common Ground.