NEPAlI FILM INDUDTRY(KALIWOOD);
The himalayan country of Nepal does not have a very long film history, but the industry has its own place in the cultural heritage of Nepal. Most Nepali films use Bollywood -style songs and narrative, and are shot on 16-millimeter film. In film industry parlance, Kathmandu, the capital and center of the Nepali -language film industry, is called Kollywood (or Kaliwood as an alternate spelling) within Nepal (not to be confused with India's Tamil languagen film industry Kollywood, based in Chennai ).
The origin of the Nepali Movies dates back to the 1960s. At this time the state had attempted to use the medium of the movies in order to support the Nepali nationhood and unity. The Nepali Movies were also used as a medium to bolster government programs.
The Nepalis craved for more and more Nepali Movies, but the production of the Nepali Movies was too slow in comparison to the demand. The Nepali Movie Industry has gone through a long, hard struggle. It took almost 15 years for some of the producers to attract investment from the private sectors to make movies.
Movies were made and produced by the government’s Royal Nepal Film Corporation at the constant rate of about one in every three years or so. And these rare productions were also played only to limited crowds.
In the period of the mid-80s the Nepali filmmakers such as Tulsi Ghimire, Shambhu Pradhan and Uddhab Paudyal finally started the Nepali Movie trend. Even eminent Nepali actors like Ashok Sharma moved from the profession of acting to producing and directing in the Nepali Movies.
Soon, by the year 1999 the Nepali Movie Industry was putting out more than 20 films at a steady rate annually. In fact the Nepali filmmakers were making history with this annual output. The Nepali Movie Industry made some great strides on the technical front also. In fact by the year 2000, 32 Nepali Movies were being produced every year. In the year of 2001, that figure of the Nepali Movie production was about 52 movies in that year.
The History of Cinema in Nepal dates back to 2008 (Bikram Era) when the first ever made Nepali Feature Film titled "Satya Harishchandra" was produced from Kolkata, India."Aama" (mother) was of course the first Nepali Film produced in Nepal in 2021 B.E. It was produced by the Information Department of Government of Nepal. Shiva Shankar Manandhar (renowned radio singer and music composer) and Bhuvan Thapa (Theatre Artist) made their debut as the lead players in the movie. The film had Hira Singh Khatri as its director and V. Balsara was the music composer.The end of 2023 B.E. saw another Nepali Film "Maitighar"(Maternal home) produced for the first time under the private banner - Sumonanjali Films Pvt. Ltd. This was a first full pledged feature film in Nepal; Famous Indian Film Artist Mala Singh played a pivotal role in the film. C.P Lohani was her co- star who became latter her life partner in real life. B.S.Thapa directed the film. The veteran music maestro Jaidev scored music for the film, Lata Mangeshkar, Nightingale of India, sang for the first time a Nepali song, which was penned by none other than the late King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (M.B.B.S). Other veteran Indian Singer who did lend their voices in the film were Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Manna Dey. Nepali singers like Prem Dhoj Pradhan, Narayan Gopal, C.P. Lohani and Aruna Lama also sang for the film. The film had friendly appearances of veteran Sunil Dutta and comedian Rajendra Nath.The Information Department of Government of Nepal continued film making for sometime and they were, "Hijo Aaj Bholi" in 2024 B.E. and Parivartan in 2028 B.E. Government of Nepal established the Royal Nepal FIlm Corporation in 2028 B.E. "Man Ko Bandh" was the first film produced by the Corporation Prakesh Thapa was the director of the film Nati Kaji and Shiva Shanker were the music directors. Amber Gurung scored background music. Salyan K.C and Sushma Shahi were the lead players. The film was premiered in 2030 B.E. in kathmandu. "Man Ko Bandh was followed by "Kumari" in 2034, "Sindoor" in 2037 and "Jeevan Rekha" in series. The success of these films opened up avenue for the private parties to enter into filmmaking as industrial endeavor.
present situation ;
By 2006, as the situation in Nepal calmed down and with Maoists coming into mainstream politics, the Nepali film industry started to return to its previous state. Now, more and more films are being made and released. The production companies and those in the industry are enthusiastic about the country's new situation. The return of peace in the country has opened more venues for the shooting of the films, and the industry is seen to be making good use of this time to revive the image of the industry
Film Development Board;
The Film Development Board (FDB) was established by the Government of Nepal for the development and promotion of the Nepali Film Industry. But recently it has not created an environment of supporting and also the promotion of different aspects of motion-picture production in Nepal. The Board is a liaison to facilitate the conceptualization, making, distribution, and exhibition of Nepali films nationally, it is not able to promote the films in the inter national market and the main thing is that this board is not serious enough to send Nepali films into the international market. It also attempts to bridge the gap between film entrepreneurship and government bureaucracy. However, the Board is bound to take care of interests of the people and support the interest for inspiring films from the common populace. The Board is a balance between the people at large, the government, and the process of filmmaking. It is, therefore, the safeguard of the interests of the people, the watchdog of the government, and the advocate of filmmakers.
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