A film about the Madhesh movement

It seems that the Nepali film industry is always neglecting Madhesh. Madhesh issues are rarely raised. To make a film on Madhesi story, either Deepak Rauniar from the same background should be tamed or a conscious director like Gauchan should dare. Otherwise, such profound social issues do not seem to 'sell' to make films in the market's laxity.

Magh 11, 2081

Reena Moktan

A film about the Madhesh movement

We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:

This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.

On one side, Sita (Jessie), a mountain girl, on the other, Ram (Rambo), a Madhesh son. A funny theme connects these two characters Ram, Sita. Time and circumstances are such that after a meeting with Sita, he kidnaps Sita and takes her to Janakpur.

Directed by Dipendra Gouchan, the film 'Keti Belobo Utuna' is a beautiful love story between these hills and a Madhesi character. Through the love story of these two, director Gauchan has shown the beauty of Madhesh, the Madhesh movement and its impact.

Gauchan, who has been absent from the Nepali film industry for a long time, has returned to directing through this film. As the title of the film suggests, director Gauchan was 'missing' from the film industry for 22 years. However, the issue raised through the film, the simple story and the beautiful recitation have strengthened his 'comeback'. The film does not capture the 'classical' flavor of the docu-drama 'Ujeli', but through the love of modern Ram and Sita, it presents the Madhesh movement for federalism, the burning Madhesh and the rift it has brought about in the relationship between Pahad and Madhesi. The strong point of ``Girl Missing Information'' is that it can tell the story of the Madheshis, who are made second class by the state and the government, to become Nepali citizens in the background of a love story. It's not that there are no weaknesses in the film, but let's look at the positive side first.

It seems that the Nepali film industry is always neglecting Madhesh. Madhesh issues are rarely seen in Nepali films. In order to make a film on Madhesi story, either Deepak Rauniar from the same background has to be tamsed or a conscious director like Gauchan has to dare. Such subjects do not seem to be 'selling' for the makers of films in the market. Who will make a film about the plight of these Nepali citizens who have to show citizenship even to come to Kathmandu? Although the issue is raised sporadically, there is less sensitivity towards the subject matter. Instead, the makers of the small screen and the big screen are enjoying portraying the same Madhesi as a laughingstock, denigrated and weakly apartheid 'stereotype' character. However, director Gauchan did not do this. In the

film, Ram's character is completely different. Drives a smooth car, can speak in clear Nepali language. They have not forgotten their Maithili loves. By nature, this character is gentle, but he raises his voice when he has to speak. This character does not look 'poor' at all. An IT engineer, he has felt the pain and suffering of his community. He is a fearless character who can stand up and raise questions against racism, apartheid and casteism.

In one of the scenes of the film, Sita, who is traveling through Madhesh, presents the discrimination based on color. When making the Nepali version of 'Fast and Furious', he thinks that Ram would be suitable for the role of the black-skinned young man in it. However, Ram immediately opposes apartheid. This scene and the character Sita are a representation of apartheid in the current youth generation. "One brother used to come to our house to sell fruits," says Sita. Ram speaks confidently on the seemingly trivial but serious issue of how the word 'Bhaiya', which is called 'brother' by Pahade while insulting the brothers of Madhesh, has grown in the tongue/brain of the young generation. Ram asks Sita, "You think of us Nepalis who live in the Terai as Indians, don't you?"

Sita also expressed her opinion on another topic related to Madhesh. During the elections, the mentality of connecting Madhesi with Indians is revealed through the rumor that they will vote even the Indians across the border as Nepalis. 'As Nepali as you are, I am Nepali as well', raising a question mark on the conservative idea of ​​modern Sita, is the answer given by Ram, which is also the film's catchphrase. The Madhesh movement took place when they raised their voices against discrimination by the state. Federalism came to the country due to the fight between many Madhesi and Pahadis, their burnt wounds and shed blood. However, the film satirizes the relationship between Pahades and Madhesi, apartheid and racist thinking, which is getting colder after federalism. It forces the state, the government and the stakeholders to discuss such serious issues. The film shows the love story between Pahade and Madheshi and makes one think about the achievements and impact of the Madheshi movement along with the question of why the Madheshi's hearts were upset and why their houses were burnt. After the Madhesh movement, did the strained relationship between Pahades and Madheshis become warm? How did the state understand federalism? Did the Madheshis get a citizen's identity? The success of director Gauchan is to question these issues through the love story of two young people.

The director has flowed the story of the film in such a simple way that the audience remains attached to the film. The establishment of the characters, the unfolding events and the crafting of the simple narrative style do not leave the audience's attention from the film. From the beginning, one incident after another happens in the film. "Twist and turn" are also not easily predictable. The combination of beautiful frames and lighting make the scenes eye-catching. The beauty of Madhesh has been captured in this film. Madhesh has been beautifully presented in the scenes of the setting sun, beautiful valleys, fairs in the plains and ponds throwing nets. Madhesh's dust, heat and Mithila paintings and women artists have also been presented in beautiful frames. This film is a beautiful Madhesh seen through the eyes of modern Sita in real sense. Madhesh is also what Ram wants to show.

Even when it comes to the portrayal of female characters, 'Girl Missing Notice' seems different. The Sita of this film is not strong and weak like Sita of Ramayana. Instead, she tries to live a confident independent life. He faces his own problems. You can make your own decision.

In the story of the film 'Missing' (English name), some elements are 'missing'. While telling the story, the characters that the director gave important roles in the beginning are nowhere to be seen until the end. As much attention was given to the establishment of Vilas character, not much attention was paid to the descent. This character appears suddenly and disappears suddenly. However, if this character was presented in the reading of the story till the end, the story could have become stronger. The 'climax' of the film seems very weak. The 'climax' does not give strength to the pace in which the story was flowing in a simple style. The prison scene feels forced. According to the 'time frame' of the film, if the film had been concluded in the story of 3 months ago, would the reading of the story have done justice?

In the process of making the story happy, the 'climax' has become dangerous. Some scenes in the film seem very long. In most of the long scenes, the editor has left many places to show his creativity. Due to this weakness, the screenplay has lost its ability to tighten. The background music/sound of the film has been unmatched. Whenever the characters get soaked in Madhesh, the corresponding background sound resonates. In acting, Abal Nazir has given a very sweet performance in some scenes. If Srishti had done better in the dialogue and emotion presentation, she would have looked more powerful in the character of Sita. But that doesn't seem to be the case.

Reena

Link copied successfully