Challenges and Triumphs of Art-House Cinema in Nepali Film Industry: A Closer Look at Recent Releases

KATHMANDU: There has been ongoing debate in the Nepali film industry about commercial cinema versus art-house cinema. Commercial films earn significantly more than art-house films. However, art-house films tend to involve much more risk than commercial ones, which is why fewer such films are made.

Yet the producers have ensured that to advance Nepali films in the overseas market as well as the cinema festivals, there is a need for art-house films. Yet the followers of such movies are very limited in Nepal and thus fewer of them are produced. Few such producers as Naveen Subba, Meen Bham, and Deepak Rauniyar are such ones who still produce such movies.

These three directors only produced art-house films last year: Gaun Aayeko Bato by Naveen Subba, Sambala by Meen Bham, and Rajaganj by Deepak Rauniyar. Among these, Naveen Subba’s film Gaun Aayeko Bato was slightly more commercial than the other two. It received average reviews, but it also saw box-office success compared to the others.

Gaun Aayeko Bato earned a gross collection of NPR 41.9 million. Dayahang Rai and Pashupati Rai led the main cast.

Meen Bham’s Sambala followed, which received average reviews as well. But it was not as much a critical hit as Gaun Aayeko Bato. Sambala made NPR 21.2 million at the box office, with the stars being Thindley Lahmo and Karma.

Finally, Deepak Rauniyar’s Rajaganj was released. It was the weakest in terms of reviews among the three. This film failed to get favorable reviews and also had a poor performance at the box office, earning only NPR 1.621 million. The cast included Asha Magarati, Dayahang Rai, and Vijay Baral.

Despite the bad box-office and critiques, all three films generated plenty of hype. The lack of good word-of-mouth is likely the reason that these films failed as expected.

Due to poor box-office performances, the producers don’t invest much in art-house films readily. However, it should be realized that most of the commercially released movies have their box-office performances as relatively low-risk undertakings whose earnings are commonly lower compared to the performances of such art-house films.