Born on August 31, 1963, Gurung had no specific dreams to attain. However, like in other households during that time, her family members did not like to see her dancing and acting.
“Because I was a daughter, my parents always wanted me to stay behind the veil. All that they dreamt for me was to get married to someone and settle down happily with my family,” Gurung said inside the Nepal Police Headquarters in Naxal.
The popular face of “Jire Khursani” teleserial, she learnt acting from Danphe Acting Institute in Pokhara and joined Nepal Police Club as its official artiste. Every year when the club hosted cultural events, she made sure that she got appreciated by her seniors for her dance and stage acts. She never thought she would one day go beyond the premises of the club and do shows for larger audiences.
The “chhuchchi budi” of teleserials, Gurung still remembers the day when she met Santosh Panta. Things changed in her life ever since. Panta offered her a role in a serial “Mit Ba” where she enacted the character of “Mitini Aama” which was loved by many. After this, there was no looking back. Soon, she was approached by Hari Bansha Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha (MaHa) who offered her to play one of the lead roles in “Lal Purja”, one of the best teleserials Nepalis ever saw.
“The MaHa duo was my sole inspiration in this field. It was like a dream come true for me to work with them,” she recollected. “I still feel as if it was just yesterday.”
One after the other, she gave her best performances in popular comedy TV serials like “Oho”, “Left Right” and “Asal.” When people started recognizing her as one of those few character actors in Nepal who had genuine humor and possessed a unique physical energy while acting, she awed many through her drop-dead serious role in the movie “Basanti.” With this feature film, she proved it that she could also make people emotional, and side by side, make them laugh.
Suddenly she got struck by questions. Could acting be her mainstream profession? Would it support her financially throughout her life? She realized that screen business wouldn’t always help her. So she decided to continue with Nepal Police and went for an intensive training. Passing which, she was promoted to Inspector. Meanwhile, she didn’t give up acting.
It is stage plays she says she loves doing the most.
“Nothing gives me more satisfaction than acting onstage, live and interacting with my audiences,” she beamed.
Success wasn’t easy to achieve for a woman from a middle class family while growing up in an orthodox Nepali society, as she did. However, she doesn’t regret anything.
“Be it men or women, we all have to struggle if we want to make things happen. Art has nothing to with the gender factor.”
She has been fortunate to get support from her husband Nabin Gurung, a music composer, and also from her two sons and daughter. She also thanks her senior police officials for understanding her inclination to acting and for being flexible to her working hours, her fellow colleagues in TV who have even rescheduled shootings cues many times because of her duty hours as Inspector.
“I feel content. However, it’s disappointing to see how character artistes are still pulled back and only film actors are given priorities. In reality, it’s character actors who keep the audiences glued and entertained through any shows,” she added.
Recalling the times she had to face hassles as an onscreen comedienne, she unveiled, “At times, it’s really irritating to see how people misunderstand us just because we make them laugh onscreen. As Inspector, I’ve to do my field duty at various public places. I go out of my mind when people try to bully me even when I’m in my uniform. There have been times when people call out to me, Come on, crack a joke for us!”
Nonetheless, Gurung admits that she faces much less unpleasant moments at public places than her fellow actors for the fact that she’s with Nepal Police.
“People think twice before they do any stupid things with me,” she elaborated. “But I also take ragging as something that I’ve earned. At least, it gives me a satisfying realization that people do remember my onscreen names, which means they don’t miss my shows.”
Without expecting much from the future, she is however sure for one thing: She may give up acting but she’ll continue to work as a police officer.
“My government job will look after my needs even after I retire from the service. But if anything wrong goes with me physically, my acting career will stop. But I love doing both jobs.”
Before she concluded, she added, “How I wish my sons would be interested in this field. Ironically, they love to see me onscreen but don’t want to get into showbiz.”
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