Everyone knows him as 'Mundre' from the popular TV series 'Jire Khursani.' Jitu Nepal has been an important part of the Nepali entertainment scene for more than a decade. He has also been part of acclaimed films like 'Chha Ekan Chha' and 'Wada Number 6.' Now the actor is preparing to shoot for a new film late next month.
"I will be working with the team of 'Wada Number 6.' The new film will be called 'Chakka Panja.' Then I'm planning on doing a new TV show but maybe only when the load shedding hours are reduced," he says.
He is scared of sleeping aloneThe comic actor worries about the sleeping arrangement whenever he has to travel around the country (or abroad) for his performances. "I'm scared of sleeping all alone in a room," he says, adding, "I start thinking crazy things like what if someone died in this very bed I'm sleeping in? I end up watching TV or playing with my mobile phone till the early hours of the morning." To add to his sleeping woes, he also cannot fall asleep unless he is occupying the corner of the bed. "Even if I'm sleeping with my son, I make sure I am near the wall," he says. Also, if the hotel bed happens to be in the middle of the room, he will immediately start pushing it toward the nearest wall.
He greatly enjoys cooking
Cooking is something he really enjoys, he says. He came to Kathmandu from Sindhupalchowk 20 years ago and has been fending for himself ever since. He loves experimenting in the kitchen and admits that he makes some great achars and meat dishes. "I don't mind cooking at all. I don't follow any particular recipes or watch any cooking shows. I just go with my instinct and try out new recipes which are usually very successful, I'm told," he says.
Plane rides always scare him
His out of valley commitments ensure that he has to travel a lot. But however much he flies, he still cannot help feeling nervous every time he boards the plane. He says, "When the airhostesses greet me at the door, I always ask them whether we will be experiencing any turbulent weather and if the plane will shake. I'm on my toes until the very end of the plane ride." The scariest ride was a couple of years back when he and a couple of other actors were flying back from Lukla to Bhairahawa after a show. The plane started shaking so violently that the entire team was in tears and the pilot scolded them all.
His emotional nature often backfires on him
"I'm very sensitive and I cry easily. I guess I'm one of those sano chitta bhako manchhe," says the actor. He believes that because he is so emotional and trusting, he often lands in trouble as many of them have betrayed his trust. His "too trusting" nature leads him to reveal his secrets to those who he thinks are his dear friends but the trust has mostly been misplaced.
Failure to learn swimming is one of his regrets in life
For most of his life, he has juggled with the desire to learn swimming while battling the fear of deep water. The desire to swim does take him to swimming pools but he only splashes about for couple of minutes before hurrying out. This fear of water probably stems from the fact that a young child drowned in Sunkoshi River which was near his school in Sindhupalchowk District. "Our teachers and parents forbid us to swim so I never learnt swimming as a young boy. Then it just became very difficult for me to learn the sport as I grew up. Seeing others enjoy themselves takes me to the pool but a few minutes is all I can endure in the water."