KATHMANDU, Nov 12: Manav Subedi was born on Baisakh 6, 2046 BS in Jhapa to Tara Devi and Vumi Raj Subedi. After completing high school from Gomendra Multiple College in Jhapa, he pursued his bachelor’s degree in filmmaking at Sukedhara-based Oscar College of Film Making in Kathmandu. Manav was fond of playing in and watching movies since his childhood.
After completing his bachelor’s degree, he pursued his career in the film industry. Manav made his debut through ‘Antaral’ as the lead male actor. The film garnered commercial success, while Manav bagged the nomination in CG Cine Award for the Best New Actor. Though he was always inclined toward the arts field, be it acting, music or writing, Manav finally decided to take up acting as his profession in the course of chasing his childhood dream.
“I like the film world as it gives an artist an uncompromised freedom of expression. I can be anyone and do anything in movies. As we can present our ideas and observation to the audience through videos, acting is a window that shows artists a glimpse of several other worlds,” he said.
Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba, in Nepal
Manav’s impeccable taste for fusion music has also pushed him to lead in the field of his choice. The world of art is ever accepting, and Manav’s talent for composing music helped him struggle, survive and thrive in the film as well as music scenes. He likes films that reflect the cultural and geographical diversification of Nepal.
For his upcoming projects, Manav wants to articulately present true stories and incidents that have happened in our country. He said, “Movies should reflect real life incidents, while maximum number of audiences should be able to relate. After watching a movie, the audience should feel like it’s their story and it resembles their lifestyle.”
Manav feels that Nepali film industry is faring badly due to the lack of proper market. “Despite the availability of talented persons, Nepali films are not able do as well as Hollywood or Bollywwod films for want of realistic and relatable stories. If anyone wants to succeed as an actor in Nepal, she/he needs to go through several rejections and hurdles without losing their heart.”
After the commercial success of his music videos like ‘Ghumi Sara’ and ‘Dashain Tihar’, Manav has released yet another lyrical video of his new song called ‘Majhi Dai’. The song is about the lifestyle of a majhi (traditional fisherman). Manav has also just completed the shooting of a two-hour art film titled ‘Chini Kam Rang Kada’.
Currently, he is working on a documentary named ‘Mechi Kali Dairy’ that reflects the cultural diversification of Nepal through different cultural dances like Tharu dance, Santhal dance, Ranthal dance, Hudke dance, Chalige dance, Magar dance, Rai dance and Kirati dance.
Manav is also planning to travel to Mustang with his close friend Rajendra Sapkota for his another art film. As good friends, Rajendra and Manav have worked under several creative headings in music videos. Rajendra is a well known photographer and a cinematographer, while both of them are nature lovers and avid travelers.
