A couple of films later, Nepali youth audience, although hesitant and hence selective, are now heading to theatres to pay for and watch Nepali movies. There’s nothing like watching a homemade movie that’s at par with the standard that was once deemed unlikely.[break]
Nischal Basnet, 32, who wrote and directed ‘‘Loot’’; multifaceted Prashant Rasaily, 34, with two films under his belt – ‘Acharya’ and ‘Kathaa’; and aspiring filmmaker Kshitiz Shrestha, 27, who has co-directed short films like Ma Janna, Nagarjuna and Shukrakeet and hopes to start with feature films in the near future, talk about film aesthetics and donning the director’s hat.
What first got you interested in filmmaking?
Nischal: It hasn’t been long since I ventured into filmmaking, just around four years. I got into this out of total frustration. As an audience, none of the Nepali films was appealing, and after returning from Sydney, I gave myself a time limit of five years to make a movie. Filmmaking was never a hobby; I just ended up trying my hand at it.
Prashant: I always played with my imagination, even as a child. When I was 11, I made a wooden film projector and I used to make my sisters watch films on it. The progress wasn’t sudden; it slowly came to me – taking photographs, thinking of stories, trying different things.
Kshitiz: I have always been artistically inclined, and when I met a few likeminded people, we started a visual media company, Chhaproma Productions, around a year and a half ago. Since then, we’ve been making short films.
L to R: Nischal Basnet, Prashant Rasaily and Kshitiz Shrestha.
Who are your favorite Nepali actors?
Prashant: As a director, you should be able to ask what you want from actors. There are so many good actors here but the question is, can you ask?
Nischal: I like working with those I’m comfortable with, those who are welcome to criticism. It’s not talent we lack; it’s just that luck favors some.
Kshitiz: I’m a fan of screen actors with theatre background but I find non-actors and their rawness the most interesting.
A director is a collaborator. How do you choose your cast and crew?
Prashant: I work with what is available; it’s either theatre guys or non-filming people. For ‘Kathaa’, the entire crew consisted of 25 people who were not from the film background but were interested in learning. The shooting was basically like a workshop.
Nischal: I always ask my college friends to help me, it’s like bartering – they help me in my films and I return the favor. We always pay each other, though – it’s just the question of how much. Working with those outside my friends’ circle, I’ve realized that young filmmakers are welcoming suggestions from other crew members. Some technicians have told me that they usually wouldn’t know what the movie they were working for was about. We gave small roles to some of the crew members in ‘Loot’ and they suggested how things could be done differently.
Has it ever happened to you that a film turned out differently from what you desired?
Nischal: There’s always some dissatisfaction during the post-production. You realize that you could’ve done a few things differently, but a film doesn’t completely stray away from the initial plan. A few here and there, but it’s likely that the film might turn out better than you thought.
Prashant: You just keep working on every aspect until you’re completely sure it sticks. We planned on shooting a horror movie before we decided on ‘Kathaa’. I like playing with crafts and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with changing the story furthermore. But it’s extremely important to know where you’re starting and ending the story. Things in between can change; ‘Kathaa’ was made without a script; so everything happened impromptu.
Kshitiz: I make it a point to filter clichés in my stories and am consciously looking for uniqueness.
Is it a filmmaker’s role to worry about what audiences want?
Prashant: I write what I feel first. I think of human emotions because that’s something everybody can relate to, and then I pass it on to a friend.
Nischal: Firstly, I have to like what I’m writing. I insist on making films that seem realistic which people watching can relate to in one way or the other. Majority of Nepali movies have the same larger-than-life elements. What’s the point of making a movie that’s not even close to life?
Have you had any instances where you had to compromise with your story to make it more appealing?
Nischal: No, compromising with aesthetics just to market one’s films is not my principle. We had to shoot some traffic scenes for ‘Loot’ but permission from the concerned authorities was unavailable, so we secretly shot some of the fight scenes in the alleys of Bhaktapur. Uncooperativeness aside, restrictions like these actually help you get more creative instead. It’s challenging. I don’t make films for profit. I consider myself fortunate to have a lot of people watching my film.
Prashant: I don’t compromise, I suffer. There’s an international market for Nepali movies now, so there’s more than one way to earn money from movies. I am only interested in recovering my investment, and marketing gimmicks don’t affect my work or the way I work.
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