The film 'Behuli from Meghauli' (081) marked the emergence of two new directors – Akash Baral and Sajan Kafle.

Nischal Basnet, who is considered a 'trend setter' director, not only trusted these new faces in the film, but also collaborated with them.

33-year-old Akash and Sajan, who made a strong debut in the film industry with the story of 'Behuli from Meghauli', proved that they are long-distance runners.

How heavy is the pressure on a young woman in her 30s to get married from her family, neighborhood, and society? They satirized the patriarchal society by coating the deep sighs of women with humor.

This film pilot, who gained popularity with the successful 'landing' of 'Behuli from Meghauli', is now taking flight with a new story through the film 'Zero Degree'. In the teaser released a month ago, the audience probably couldn't stop laughing when they saw Punya Prasad Chaulagain riding a horse and enjoying the breeze of a two-way fan. Akash and Sajan, who are testing the market by releasing the first look of the film 'Zero Degree', got more excited from the reaction.

The comical character of actor Vijay Baral, who looked amazing in the guise of Punya while sitting on a horse, added more curiosity to the audience. Some had already written a joking response in the comments of YouTube, 'Khayo khayo, this film khayo desh.'

The film did not khayo desh, but Akash and Sajan were drinking coffee at a cafe in Buddhanagar on Wednesday and said, 'The audience's heart had to be broken!'

They are trying to get the audience to the hall in the upcoming Tihar. The director duo, who is busy with the editing after finishing the shooting, also gave new information, 'The editing is done.' Now we have to do more work.'

In 'Behuli from Meghauli', the producer's burden was shouldered by Nishil and Swastima Khadka. Akash and Sajan were free to just be creative. 'But in Zero Degree, we are the producers, it is difficult to carry both burdens on one head,' Akash said about the added degree of anxiety. Nevertheless, they have supported each other as they have divided the responsibilities and strived to produce beautiful work.'

Where did the core of their collaboration, which had been solidified from 'Behuli from Meghauli' to 'Zero Degree', break?

Akash and Sajan go back to 12 years ago. 'In 2014, we met at an animation institute in Kathmandu. Both were interested in films, but the four-year course in making was difficult. Sajan also went there with the same thought as I went there,' Akash said.

Before Akash could finish speaking, Sajan added, 'We had to make a film soon, didn't we?' But the film didn't end as soon as we thought! They had to walk a long road of a decade.

Sajan was born and raised in Butwal. While studying in school, he used to write short stories. And, the stories he wrote in Panna were imagined on the screen. Despite their appearances, they didn't talk for a long time. While slowly sitting together and chatting over tea, it became clear, 'We also have a similar taste for films.' At that time, Nepali film had changed its face after 'Loot'. And films like 'Kabaddi' that came along had also raised hopes. Sajan says, 'Aakash and I talked with the same enthusiasm - why don't we also make a short film?' Even though they shared a taste for films, Akash and Sajan came there from different backgrounds.

Sajan was born and raised in Butwal. While studying in school, he used to write short stories. And, the stories he wrote in Panna were imagined on the screen.

Born in Nawalparasi, Akash spent his childhood in his maternal grandfather's house in Palpa. At his maternal grandfather's house, his grandfather was a treasure trove of stories. Akash tried to recount the experiences and stories his grandfather told to his friends exactly as they were. Not only that, when his mother came home from the office, Kantipur Koseli, Kopila and Muna magazines, which she would bring with her, fed the budding storyteller in Akash. 'The stories there attracted me towards visual storytelling. On top of that, I would also go to the movie theater to watch movies,' says Akash.

By the time he reached 10th grade, Akash had already decided on his dream. He would say to himself, ‘I will also make a film one day.’

After watching the film ‘Harry Potter,’ he was also convinced that he would create a new world. ‘At that time, I thought that the film director would make it. But in interviews, the director also only says that the script is a script. Then I realized that to make a film, you have to write it first,’ says Akash.

After coming to Kathmandu to study at college, he downloaded foreign film scripts on Google and started reading them incessantly. He started reading books that taught him how to write scripts.

At that time, he was very eager to meet Nischal Basnet, and even sent him emails several times. ‘After the 2072 earthquake, I got a chance to meet him at a workshop,’ says Akash.

At that time, Akash had already prepared a script. Even though he told Nischal Nischal was impressed by seeing the script of a feature film in the hands of a young boy. He said, ‘I will write you another film.’ Without saying a word, Nischal wrote ‘Mindless’ to Akash. At that time, a producer bought the script that Akash was carrying in his hand. But that script could not be made into a film for so many years. At that moment, after selling the script, Akash felt strong, ‘This is how you can live.’

Sajan had met Akash when he was looking for a new circle for the film. ‘I also did not have any circle. After getting close to Akash, I got a good friend. After that, we started dreaming of filmmaking together,’ said Sajan.

Sajan went to India in 2016 to study film directing. After returning after staying for a year and a half, he worked as an assistant director in ‘Garud Puran’ directed by Subash Koirala. Then he joined ‘Halkara’ directed by Vikram Sapkota.

The film that introduced Akash as a writer was the film ‘Dimaag Kharab’ directed by Nischal Basnet, released in 2080.

Akash was exploring new stories in film writing. Sajan was supporting him. Akash, who also has a deep interest in narrative, published the novel ‘Sparsh’ in 2019. Akash initially wrote Gurung films – Kutumberi Saino and Khai O Mithewa. He co-wrote ‘Halkara’. ‘Lakhe’, ‘Actor’, ‘Pheri Resham Filili’ and ‘Chapali Height 3’ are some of the released films he has written. Akash and Sajan wrote the film ‘Bihe Paas’ together. In the meantime, they also did a lot of ghostwriting together. ‘When the film he wrote came on screen, it was hard to understand.’ I kept wondering if I could say what I wanted when I created the world that the writer created myself,' say Aakash and Sajan.

The film that introduced Aakash as a writer is the film 'Dimag Kharab' directed by Nischal Basnet, released in 2080.

The idea of ​​the bridal firm Meghauli sprouted towards the end of the Corona period. This story contains Sajan's feelings. Due to Covid-19, an epidemic of disease and fear had spread in the country. It was uncertain when the stalled film sector would resume. Sajan planned to stay home for a few years. After going home, Sajan started feeling pressure to get married. Sajan called Akash one day and said, ‘Now it’s impossible to stay here, we have to return to Kathmandu.’

Akash recounts the discussion they had that night. ‘If a boy has so much pressure to get married, how much more so for a girl?’ From that ‘thought’, the idea of ​​the bridal firm Meghauli was born,’ says Akash.

After Covid, they talked to Swastima for the lead role in the film. Swastima liked the story so much that she proposed to invest in the production. ‘After that, Nischal and Swastima got together.’ Our project went well,’ says Sajan.

In the Nepali film industry, collaborations usually don’t last long, except for a few. ‘The reason for that separation is money and credit.’ says Akash, looking at Sajan. After ‘Zero Degree’, they will direct the film ‘Srinavas’. In this film,  Harivansh Acharya and Abhishek Khadka will be in the lead roles . 

Both Aakash and Sajan are familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses . 'We have different personalities . I try to stay a little structured . Sajan is very instinctive . His thoughts are open and new,' says Aakash, 'Our roles are divided in direction . Sajan is very precise in visuals, blocking and composition, while I focus more on the performance and emotions of the actors .'

Sajan also adds, 'Sometimes we have creative conflicts, but that is only to make the cinema better . Our understanding is that writing is the foundation of cinema .'

'Zero Degree' is a story born from the idea of ​​director Rajan Bhusal . They were shocked to hear about the incident of a dead person in the village being kept in a 'deep freezer' until their son returned from abroad. 'What would be the image of keeping a dead person in a freezer where food is eaten?' says Sajan. 'Filmmaking is a risky business. What if the film does a lot of business? What if it doesn't?' In response, Akash says, 'Financially, we may be 10 years behind. But with experience, we are 10 years ahead.'