As Nepal prepares to celebrate Dashain and Tihar, its biggest festive season, the Nepali film industry shifts into high gear. Filmmakers compete to draw holiday crowds to cinemas, making the festive season a crucial test of box-office success.
It is one of the busiest and most eagerly anticipated times of the year to release their films, hoping to draw large audiences to cinemas.
Filmmaking is not only an art form but also a full-fledged entertainment business where hundreds of people are brought together, each contributing skills and creativity to the process. Producers invest considerable amounts of money in film projects with the intention of achieving strong returns on their investments.
Nepali filmmakers often look to the festive season to release their films, and sometimes this kind of trend often sees films clashing on the same date.
Like in recent years, several Nepali films are set to be released in cinemas during this year’s Dashain and Tihar festivals, giving audiences a variety of local films to watch.
Releasing films
The releases include 12 Gaun 2, Aa Bata Aama 2, Chha Maya Chhapakkai 2, and Kabaddi 5: After the final match, Panch Pandav and Batulo Jun are scheduled to hit the big screen between October 16 and November 12.
The action-drama film 12 Gaun 2, directed by Biraj Bhatt, is scheduled for release on October 16. The sequel to 12 Gaun, one of Nepal’s highest-grossing films, is expected to draw considerable audience interest. It will face direct competition from Aa Bata Aama 2, which is also set to open in cinemas on the same day.
The following day, October 17, will see the release coincide with the Dashain Fulpati. The comedy drama is the sequel to the successful film associated with Deepak Raj Giri and Deepa Shree Niraula.
Meanwhile, Kabaddi 5: After the Final Match, another eagerly awaited instalment in a popular Nepali film franchise, is scheduled to hit cinemas on October 23, further intensifying the competition for audiences during the festive season.
The line-up continues into November, with Panch Pandav, inspired by the legendary Pandavas of the Hindu epic Mahabharata, scheduled for release on November 6. The film 'Panch Pandav', starring Haribansha Acharya in the lead role, will be released coinciding with another great festival, Tihar. Adding to the Tihar lineup, one of the most talked about films, Batulo Jun, starring Anmol KC, is set to arrive on November 12.
The festive film season is already under way; several Nepali films, including Pension Patta, Baa: Ek Yoddha, Akshara, Jhingedaau 2, Parvati and Acharya, are screening in cinemas, giving moviegoers a wide range of domestic productions.
The competition, however, extends beyond the domestic film industry. Several anticipated Bollywood releases, such as Jailer 2, Nayyi Navelli and Udta Teer, and Hollywood films, such as Street Fighter, Hope and Clayface, are also vying for audience attention during the festive period, giving a tough competition to local production.
Box-office shift
Recently, Nepali cinema has observed a significant shift in its box-office revenue collection. The phenomenal success of Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi, made on a modest budget and based on a rural setting and a story about a Gandharva and his ups and downs, marked a turning point in the Nepali film industry. The film grossed around Rs. 500 million in the domestic market and approximately Rs. 750 million worldwide. This movie managed to challenge the existing belief that movies produced in Nepal cannot draw a huge number of viewers and make a lot of money from ticket sales.
It proved that a good story and a connection with people are equally important to having an impressive budget and casting popular stars in the main roles. This movie also played a role in helping to restore confidence in the ability of local movies to be successful commercially.
After the success of this movie, a number of other movies by Nepali directors such as “Paran” and “Gauthali” turned out to be very successful commercially. Deepak Raj Giri and Deepa Shree Niraula play in the most commercially successful movie series called “Chhakka Panja”. While four of its installments were released during Dashain, the franchise has demonstrated the box-office potential of Nepali films. Likewise, the Kabaddi series raised hopes for investment in Nepali cinema and showed that Nepali films could become a strong industry. Films including 12 Gaun and Jari have also helped build confidence in the industry by attracting audiences and achieving commercial success. These developments have pushed film makers to recognise the potential of the festive season as an opportunity to extend their reach and recover on their investment.
Good content, along with a good production house, usually works well at this time. But with several foreign as well as local movies releasing in this festive season, there is no certainty about their success. In the end, the movies which can win over the audiences might be able to make the festival box office a success.
Success formula
Filmmakers generally believe that festivals are an ideal time to release their films, as audiences are more inclined to visit cinemas during the holidays. During this time, people are often in a holiday mood, and if there are good stories, they definitely visit cinemas.
Producers often schedule their releases during festivals in the hope of attracting larger crowds and recovering their investments more easily. Big-banner productions and films with strong content tend to do particularly well during these periods. Nevertheless, making up your mind about the timing of releasing a movie is not enough for its success. Filmmakers should tell a good story to appeal to the audience and take care of all the aspects of their work, including cinematography, editing, sound and design. The publicity of a film is vital in ensuring its success. All of these factors combined will ensure the success of films both in commercial terms and in appealing to the audience.
(The author is a journalist at The Rising Nepal.)
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