After two and half years of production time, Nirak Poudel’s “Kusume Rumal” is all set to be released. It is slated for worldwide screening in late September, during the Dashain festival. A production of Gopi Krishna Movies Private Limited, “Kusume Rumal” is not a remaking of the original film that was released many years ago. It is a sequel to the first movie which had Bhuwan KC, Tripti Nadekar, and Udit Narayan Jha in the lead roles. The sequel directed by Poudel begins from where the prequel ended earlier.
One of the much awaited films in the pipeline, “Kusume Rumal” happens to be one of the must-sees because Nirak Poudel has taken up this challenge to make a sequel to such a movie that was a blockbuster during that time. What makes it more interesting is the first edition of “Kusume Rumal” was made by his father Uddhab Poudel, chairman of Gopi Krishna Movies Private Limited. Apart from being a career starter for Nirak Poudel, this movie is more of a challenge to him because he has to make sure that he complements this sequence with balances to the original film.
The whole idea of making a sequel of “Kusume Rumal” got conceptualized after Poudel returned home after his graduation in film studies from the UK. Poudel was actually planning to make an English movie in Nepal, but suddenly changed his idea because he had deep sentiments attached to his father’s “Kusume Rumal” and opted in making its sequel. Pradip Bhardwaj prepared the script, and after six months of research on the storyline, the production team started the shooting. Breaking the trend of shooting almost all the indoor scenes at the Sabitri Sadan – a rented apartment in Tahachal where 90% of movies are shot for interiors – director Poudel promises that audiences will get to see new destinations in “Kusume Rumal.”
With an investment of more than seven million rupees, Nirak Poudel’s “Kusume Rumal” features upcoming actors Niral Baral, Usha Rajak, and Ruby Bhattarai in the lead roles while Tripti Nadekar, who was a prime character in the earlier version, is also an integral part of this sequel.
What make this movie different from other Nepali films is its technical aspects and how the whole movie is made up, says Poudel.
“I’ve tried coming out of the box and I’ve broken the stereotyped way of making cinemas in Nepal. Filmmakers in Nepal don’t give much importance to dialogue delivery and characterization. They are very important. And I’ve made sure that there are no loopholes when it comes to acting and flaws in the screenplay,” he said and added that even the songs in the movie do not look like they pop out of nowhere. Usually producers are found to be asking music composers to prepare four compositions for them altogether – one a sad song, second, an emotional number, third, a romantic track, and a tragic song.
Sauryajit Baskota has composed all the numbers for the movie while young singers like Aditya Narayan Jha, Nima Rumba, Sugam Pokharel, Yankey, Sudin Pokharel, Asif Shah, Jagdish Samal, Anju Panta, and Rajesh Payal Rai have lent their voices to the tracks. Even in choreography, there are no household names like Basanta Shrestha and Shanta Nepali involved. It has been done by aspiring young choreographers Pooja Gurung and Kabi Raj.
On the technical side, Poudel has made sure that his film meets the international criteria of making a movie.
“To meet the global trends of filmmaking, I’ve put subtitles in the movie. It is in35mm cinemascope and I have further digitalized it with 5.1 Digital Dolby Sound Surrounding.
Besides, this movie will be a perfect family package with no action scenes in the film.
“It may sound weird to hear that a Nepali movie has no action scene. But it’s true, there are no fighting around the Chobhar hills,” Poudel added.
Confident about not disappointing the expectations people have in this sequel, Poudel unveils that there is a thin line between presenting your innovation while mixing a commercial touch, and he has taken care of that in his debut film. Unlike many others who define their target audience while making a cinema, Poudel says he wants everyone from all age groups and classes to come and watch his movie.
After the release of the film, Poudel will immediately start making his dream project – an English movie. In fact, he has even assembled the scripts and has registered the name of his forthcoming film “Assassination of Royal Nepali Family.”
For now, we have to wait to see what does the sequel of “Kusume Rumal” do in the box office after its release in late September. Along with cinema halls in Nepal, the movie will simultaneously release in Malaysia and in some places of India, too. For moviegoers who are looking forward to watch new sorts of Nepali films, the coming Dashain season is going to be a perfect one for them with “Kusume Rumal” and “Mero Euta Saathi Chha” releasing almost together.
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Kusume Rumal
