V.No. In a period of 58 years from 2024 to 2082, Neer Shah acted in 300 films and directed 8. He started his film journey with 'Parivartan' directed by Hira Singh Khatri. In the first film, his salary was 700 rupees. Deepak Sapkota's conversation with famous Nepali film actor/director Shah on his 6-decade Nepali film journey:

  What has changed in acting during the 60-year journey of Nepali films?

- An unprecedented change has been seen in world cinema. Cinematographers used to say that an actor who has played a play does not have the same quality as an actor who played a movie. But after the entry of English theater actors into Hollywood, where did the level of Hollywood cinema reach? Let's talk about India, Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian cinema, is a stage actor himself. Theater actors understand the basic grammar of acting. The entry of people who understand the grammar of acting gradually increased in the Nepali film industry, it also changed the grammar of acting and acting itself was re-languaged . And, the definition of acting gradually changed. It changed the 'pattern' of acting.

Before there was a recognition or understanding that 'theater actors should not work in films'. Now the film has a cast of theater actors . How have you seen this sweeping change?

– That should have been the case from the start. I am an actor from theater. Other actor friends who played with me in the theater are still acting. At that time, there were not many female artists. The dancing woman, moreover, the one who plays, is a little more accessible in the film, by not being found . We could not enter as heroes, there were many reasons behind that. One reason may be because our background is drama. Our 'beginning' is the wrong part of the film. Because the beginning was wrong, the Bombay style of India came to our film . They are the films made now, not the films made before, they are just like films.

Can you say that the films you played and made are not films at all ?

– My films are good films only till the time when the Bombay formula is removed from it . No movie was shown in the theater without Bombay style . While making the film 'Vasudev', I did not use many things in it even though I wanted to. If the situation was like now, I wouldn't have kept much, which I kept then . There is no doubt that Satya Harishchand is the first film made in Nepali language. It is the truth that led us. The first film made in Nepal is 'Aama'. Those films are made for a certain purpose. 3 films were made in Nepal by the then government. However, the government should have tried to make films with Nepali culture and originality. Nepali had rich literature. Even if the film was made on the literary work, how much better it would be . However, that path could not be adopted . How was your struggle to appear on the screen of

films or to be selected for acting?

– that was the situation of our struggle. At that time we were not established . Every time I had to give an interview to play a film, there was a line . And, we also went to the movie . By then I had done a film made in Darjeeling, with Pratap Subba. As much as there were changes in content, acting-style, story-telling, many subsidiary changes appeared along with them - mainly in technology . I consider him phenomenal as a filmmaker or a student of film . And, that change is very meaningful .

What are some of the interesting experiences of those days?

- At that time, the shooting of the film was done only occasionally. I was waiting for the day of shooting. The shooting seemed like a celebration or festival to the artist. And, the shooting day was waiting like a festival. Those who went to the shooting thought that they were going to witness the celebration . They used to celebrate . There were only positive things everywhere. That positive thinking seems a little less now . How capable were

directors back then?

– Some directors definitely knew their job . Heerasingh Khatri himself was not only a director but also a strong actor, who came from a theater background . There was also a lot to learn from director Prakash Thapa. He believed that an artist should work in a disciplined way, he had loyalty to his work . Until later, the director who came from the same schooling continued in the film industry.

Do you have any anecdotes or experiences with Raja Mahendra and Virendra Shah about the film?

- After I applied to play in the film, the director asked Mahendra Raja that 'a man named So-and-so has come to play in the movie, will you play him or not?' Which I came to know much later, after someone told me . After Birendra Shah said to prepare a document to develop the film industry in the long term, I and a group of Chakra Bahadur Karkis wrote and submitted a thesis focusing on the formula of film development. One chapter of that thesis is 'Nepal Television'. In the thesis, we wrote that 'If television is also opened in Nepal, it will help the cinema industry a lot' .

It is said that the popular belief of the thing called 'hero' has been broken, what is your opinion on this?

– There were separate lines of heroism. When you watch a movie, the actor who stays in the most important place in your heart after watching it is the hero . An artist who gets lucky enough to live in people's hearts is a hero. How to understand the theory of

protagonist and antagonist?

– This is a character introduction . Villains are also heroes in cinema . Like what to say to Robin Hood ? A commercial product that sells an image should define heroism in a way . What should be understood is that the film is something to be watched from the heart . After entering the hall, everyone watches the movie from the heart - good or bad . However, the audience watches unattached . After looking at it like that, the conscious-subconscious mind of a person keeps that character as its imprint. Your hero and your hero may be different . Every person's hero is different.

What is the change in our heroism face? Rajesh Hamal was the hero then, now it is Dayahang Rai!

– now not face, acting is given priority . Whether you are a star or a megastar, you have to do it when you want to act.

There is a debate that 'Nepali film could not be original, could not be creative'. What do you think ?

– Compared to earlier, our film is very original and creative. It wasn't like that before .

used to be directed by the film market, now the director is trying to bring something new ?

- now an unprecedented change has appeared in the film - in the story-telling, content . The story and the style chosen to tell the story are important now . It also reflects originality . The way text is picturized has also been changed. But, the directors have to work harder to picture it . We were influenced by the

formula, why are the filmmakers who came to establish originality also in the same trend?

- Even if you leave Bombay's formula and catch South Korea's, you leave one formula and catch another. Choosing an original theme will force you to adopt it . As soon as you say original, you need not only villages, mountains, sheep, goats, and cattle, but also the story there. Originality should smell of earth and touch the heart. If the story with the scent of soil is presented in a way that touches the heart, it would be original!

What changes have we made in story telling?

– Previously there was a fight after every 5 stories or a comic scene after every 10 scenes. Every half hour there was a violent scene. That established belief has now been abandoned. Now it has changed! A hero, a heroine, who were in love, with each other and as their helpers there were 2 other characters who were laughing . These were mandatory in the film . After leaving it, the established belief was not erased and ?

What was the last movie you watched that made you happy?

- I liked the movie 'wool sweeter' very much among the ones I watched. I often go to movie theaters to find out my sequences, to see the production and development aspects of it .

Are you happy with recent Nepali film making?

– The way of making earlier films was different. The director of that time had already made sure that this film ends here and connects from here to there. Therefore, the homework of the former filmmakers would have been good . The current producer-director's shot division homework doesn't look good . Increased reliance on the

editor. What is the job of the director if the editor is going to put it together and the cameraman is going to shoot it? The current director should be aware of that. Because now a lot of films are being made, better ones should be made. It is also important how the teaching of film colleges is being done, from where the change should be initiated . Like, why take a close-up, why a long shot should be logical. And, accordingly, the director has to do more homework on the shots breakdown .