Nepali Movies – A clash between old and new generations

For the last two decades, Nepali film industry has been ruled by Rajesh Hamal and his craze hasn’t diminished to date. The new comer actors had tried to follow his path, but none have succeeded. Hamal represents masala types of movies with common ingredients like action, comedy, songs, and glamorous actresses.

After the release of "Sano Sansar" and "Kagbeni", Nepali movies had stepped in new direction creating a sharp contrast between the two groups of film makers.

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Namrata Shrestha interview – do deceiving headings sell an online article?

I saw an interview of Namrata Shrestha published in an online magazine Ujyalo Online. The title looked interesting but, I later realized that it was totally deceiving. After reading the whole interview, I felt I was cheated by the website.

Do deceiving titles work in online media?

The title, when translated, reads "My character represents the current generation – Namrata Shrestha"

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MovieWoods – Hollywood, Bollywood, Tollywood, Lollywood, Ollywood, Kollywood…

A news about a Nepali actor, Shri Krishna Shrestha, starting a business named "Kollywood Planet" left me thinking – is the Nepali movie industry Kollywood?

Although, Shri Krishna Shrestha’s business doesn’t seem much related to the Nepali movie industry, I have a feeling, he does want to represent the Nepali film industry. The name, Kollywood, seems to be inspired by the combination of Kathmandu and Hollywood. But, when I checked the name in Google, there was no reference of Kollywood being related to Nepali (or Kathmandu) film industry, at least, not on the first page.

That means, either we have to forget about the name "Kollywood" to represent our movie industry or, make it more popular by using it more frequently. In this context, let us review what Hollywood is and, what names are inspired by Hollywood:

In the modern time, Hollywood has become an iconic name to represent the US movie industry. The success of Hollywood movies has inspired other film industries to nickname themselves with Hollywood-inspired names.

Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles, California, United States (yes, it’s not a movie industry in itself, as believed popularly). The place situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles, got it’s cultural identity as the center of movie studios and movie stars when movie making activities increased in the early 20th century.

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Rameshore Prasad Khanal asks to take action against corruption

In a Facebook note by recently resigned Finance Secretary, Rameshore Khanal, calls for action action corruption. He says, corruption being disease like cancer, is one of the major hindrance of economic growth of the country. He requests everybody to stop giving bribes or commissions, starting Baisakh 1, 2068 and start doing fair businesses. (I have copied and pasted the whole article for everybody to read below)

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Taking Twitter for granted – Hello Sukrabar

Are you a Twitter user? The micro-blogging platform in which you can’t type more than 140 characters (yes, it is character, not words).

In the recent time, Twitter has become very popular in the world. Some Nepali have also started using it. Encouraged by its popularity in Nepali users, Kantipur Daily has started publishing a section called "Sataka Twits". In the section one of the reporters copies twitter posts of his/her friends and publishes. When I saw the section last week, I felt a bit uneasy. The section this week is really awkward. One guy, in the published post is telling that he has borrowed his friend’s password to check-out the lady friends there (I thought his name deserves to be removed in the following cutting of the newspaper).

I have a couple of questions, for the publishers.

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Technology in Movies – Is that the reason Nepali movies are bad?

Background

It was an incident when I went to watch a movie in Kumari Cinema. During the interval, when I was having coffee with one of my friends we saw a group of guys aged 18-22. They were were there to watch a Hindi movie.

One of the guys showed the poster of a recently released Nepali movie ‘Mann Manai Man Paraye’ and said, “Why all Nepali movies have got same type of posters and story? Always action and same actors?” Another replied, "Our country is poor, so Nepali film industry lacks the technology Hollywood and Bollywood is blessed with. Nepali film makers have to work with limited technology. Or else our movies will also be better like Hindi and English ones." I felt good to hear the positive views of the youngsters about Nepali films.

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5 reasons music in memory card or pendrive won't work

Why are they scared of internet?

It made a ‘headline news’ when Music Nepal, the biggest music distributor in Nepal decided to sell music in memory card. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai inaugurated the pendrive by playing the National Anthem.

The memory card will be of capacity 1-2 GB and costs Rs. 675. Pendrive costs much more at Rs. 875. I know it includes the cost of hardware.

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Is talent being ignored? – Prakash Poudel (Part 2)

Previous post – Prakash Poudel – Experimentation and Innovation in music

Last year, one of Prakash Poudel’s album named Jal Paari was ready to be released but, the decision was changed in the last minute. He released one of the music videos, the response of which was good. This was the first serious album Prakash prepared, in contrast to his other fun filled, comedy theme music albums. Later, the release was postponed because of the most common reasons in Nepal – piracy and load-shedding. Prakash also mentioned that he was not happy with music awards and Nepali media.

Prakash Paudel claims that the video of Jal Paari was the first to be shot under-water. During the shooting of this video, a normal camera was enclosed in an aquarium like encasing. The shooting was done in a swimming pool in Biratnagar. The lip singing part however couldn’t be done underwater, so was done behind an aquarium. The cameraman Rojesh Shakya had done an excellent job of shooting the first ever underwater video in Nepal.

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I like West! I like East!

We grew up with teachers who told that we used to have a secret formula to make devices that can fly in the sky – as described in Ved and in Ramayan, as a ‘Puspak Biman’. However, it was the Wrights Brothers who made the first real flying plane. They didn’t have the formula to work on and the flying machine was the product of their own imagination. So, the West rules here!

People in the Western world spend billions of dollars on fitness instruments yet, they are more obese than people in the eastern side of the world. Thanks to Yoga, even a penniless can do it with a little knowledge. East rules here!

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Shiva Linga – why worship the Shiva phallus?

It really has not been that long, when I came to know, we Hindu worship a Shiva’s Linga (Shiva Lingam); Lord Shiva in the form of a phallus (penis). But, this knowledge made my skin crawl shiver in sheer disgust.

One of my friends, who is devoted to Shiva, tried to make me understand her side of story, a good side to that story. But I was so disgusted; my mind refused to understand the good-good things she was telling me. My mind simply rejected to hear her version of the worship culture. I am a Hindu by birth but, I have lost the respect for the religion due to absurd things like worshiping the Shiva Linga. Going temple every morning to worship somebody’s phallus (who cares even if belongs to a god) is just too much in the name of Dharma. Give me a break. I am not that type.
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Let's demand Saptahik to be categorized an 'adult' magazine

UPDATE: An online petition -To Name Nepali Weekly – Saptahik an Adult-Only Magazine- is started.

A disclaimer first: I don’t know anybody, in person, in Kantipur publication; they have never done any harm to me or anybody I know. Nobody has told to write this article and I have nothing personal to gain or loose by writing this article.

A Nepali weekly, published by once the biggest media house in Nepal, Saptahik, has claimed itself to be targeted to "EVERYBODY" and is publishing contents inappropriate for the children. I have raised this question more than a couple of times and have used every possible medium of communication to get reply from the concerned journalists in Kantipur publication. But, to my dismay, they have chosen to keep themselves in closed door.

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Kantipur's stray sexual desire – strip dance and women's most sensitive parts

It has been more than a few times Kantipur publication has shown it’s immaturity in it’s role as a mainstream media. It has shown signs of becoming an old lion who can’t hunt but is too proud to accept the truth – it is no longer a media of choice.

Kantipur’s desperate attempts to attract readers is evident in some of the articles with extreme sexual subjects, not suitable for minor. For example, the Dec. 24 edition of Saptahik teaches our kids to ‘strip dance’ and tells that Americans spend more time in strip bars than in theaters or operas. There is another article in the same edition, telling the kids that the inside of thighs are the most erotic parts to touch and kiss.

Now, tell me: What will you do if your 10 year-old kid want to test if Saptahik was right?

I wouldn’t have been complaining if the magazine were ‘adult only’. But, the magazine clearly mentions that it is “for everybody” – that includes kids (See the photo below, showing the title of Saptahik).

They might argue they are publishing articles on “sex education”. But, where in earth teachers talk about strip dance in school?

Well, this is not the first time, the sex hungry bunch at Kantipur have published such articles. Last time articles on Maya Bazin and Smita Thapa looked like articles written by a pimp rather than a journalist. In an attempt to hear what they have to say, I wrote emails to editors and writers but, I never got any replies. This is a perfect example on how they treat their readers.

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Love Marriage or Arranged Marriage

I was about 14 years old when my vocational teacher (not from my school) told me this incident: one of her good friends from her office chose to marry a girl just because he did not wanted to disappointed his mother. The love birds broke-up days before his marriage, to marry an unknown woman his mother chose. My teacher had all praise for him for that decision, yet my young mind could not understand his side of story more importantly the hidden reason behind that decision.

During my college days, I had a friend who preferred arranged marriage over Love marriage. She had her parents to look upon, admire and have that strong belief in this institution. But when Diana and Prince Charles divorced, her strong belief towards arranged marriage was terribly shaken.

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Battle of sex: women’s front

Written by – Sunita Giri

“Do you hate men?” An innocent looking lady who works with me asked.

“No!”, I replied.

“Then, why don’t you marry?”

She doesn’t stop asking the same question even after my repeated request not to ask it again. I don’t want any more questions in the topic.

This question makes me feel uncomfortable, and it also freezes me. I am not interested in this institution. My concern is, if I am free from this question in my family circle, why are the outsider even bother? But, they never stop bothering me.

So, I have to answer her question to make sure that she won’t keep asking the question again.

“I am not buying the concept that men are superior to women and that, I can’t live with a man who strongly believes that they are superior creatures on earth.” I added, “In our society, men are brought up with this belief and I look at them with a question in my eyes.”

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Sexy Indian spices and English Saxons cities

The other day, I accompanied one of my good friends to a financial institute to sell a concept for a television commercial (TVC). The client suggested showing money or gems as a part of the concept. My friend’s logic was not to show money in the advertisements of banks or financial companies. He said, that will have negative impact on the mass and will not generate result, as expected. This got me thinking. Why not? After all, it is all about money.

In the eastern side of the world, people are shy to talk about sex but, at the same time, they are busy generating more babies compared to the western world. Asia has more than 60% contribution to the world’s 6 billion plus population out of which, China and India combined contribute 2.5 billion. People in the western world are open and freely talk on sex and ideas associated with it. How come their population is a lot less compared to those who believe that sex is a taboo? Read the rest of this entry »