The last scene of the film ‘Ram Naam Satya’ was – Sunil’s character had to be burnt on a pyre. He had told director Michael on Friday evening, ‘This scene is good, let’s do it tomorrow morning.’ The shooting wrapped up at 10 pm. Sunil had gone home with a plan to shoot at 7 am.
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On Saturday afternoon, the faces of filmmakers in the Norvic Hospital complex were covered with sadness. With tears streaming down their faces, film director Tulsi Ghimire was telling his friends, "Yesterday, I just laughed and spoke. Today, I'm going to cry."
Actor Wilson Vikram Rai was unable to handle the difficult moment of losing a person of immense faith and love. He was soon fainting. Saroj Khanal, Shiva Shrestha, Jitu Nepal were silent. Actor Sunil Thapa, who established the villain character in the Nepali film industry in a grand manner, breathed his last at Norvic Hospital at the age of 68 in the morning.
He was taken to Norvic Hospital after fainting in his own apartment in Shankhamul on Saturday morning. Sunil passed away during treatment in Norvic. Michael Chand, who is directing 'Ram Naam Satya', is still thinking, 'Isn't this a dream?' The last scene of the film had to be shot on Friday evening. In that scene, Sunil had to be burned on a pyre. Sunil had told Michael, 'This scene is good, let's do it tomorrow morning.' The shooting was packed up at 10 pm. Sunil went home with a plan to shoot at 7 am. ‘I told my brother’s roommate to wake him up at 7 am. We were waiting for him for the pyre scene. The alarm went off in the morning, but he didn’t wake up,’ Michael says with a sigh.
Michael is troubled by the decision to change his mind on Friday. ‘There was only a few minutes of burning left, didn’t we sin by postponing it to tomorrow,’ he says with a guilty conscience, ‘otherwise, how could something like this happen today…?’
Sunil was fine throughout the shooting. He was addicted to cigarettes. He would cough violently from time to time. ‘I was scared just by coughing, as if my eyes were going to pop out,’ Michael remembers.
Sunil called Michael, who was taking a dance class in Mumbai, 13 years ago, and said, ‘Hey Michael, you’ve been staying for a long time, now come to Nepal.’ He came to Nepal and started living with Sunil in Kathmandu. ‘I had a family relationship with him. I thought I would say these things only after the movie was released, but today the situation has become such that I couldn’t stay silent,’ Michael says with a sigh.
About three and a half decades ago, a terrible villain appeared in the movie ‘Chino.’ The audience was terrified of seeing him on screen. That was – Ratekainla. This character of Sunil is still praised equally. As much as Ratekainla created fear in the hearts of the audience, Sunil Thapa created an equal ‘palace’ of love. ‘As much as he was scary in the movie character, in reality he was like a child.’ He would cry over small things. He was emotional,' Tulsi tells about the gentle man inside Sunil.
Although established by Ratekainla, Sunil's first Nepali film was 'Masal'. To remember Sunil, we have to go back to 1981. He was recognized in Bollywood cinema by his avatar that spread the world. He was seen as a cruel character in the film of that time, 'Ek Dujeke Liye'. This was also the first Hindi film in which actor Kamal Haasan played. Similarly, 'Manav Hati', 'Aajki Awaaz', 'Manu The Grey', 'Albela', whether it was 'Nasibwala'.
At that time, when 'prime time' was going on in Bollywood, Tulsi had proposed Sunil for a Nepali film. They were good friends from Mumbai. Tulsi said one day, ‘Hey Sunil, come to Nepal to do a Nepali film. But I won’t send you a ticket.’ How is the script? What is the character? How much money? Sunil didn’t ask. He came to Nepal. When he heard the script, he was amazed and said, ‘I had fun.’
While the shooting of the film ‘Chino’ was going on, Sunil’s first son was born.
He happily asked Tulsi – what should we name him?
A beautiful name flashed in Tulsi’s mind. He suggested – Anmol. The son’s name remained Anmol. Then Sunil’s daughter was born. He asked Tulsi, ‘what should we name him?’ Tulsi said the English meaning of Anmol is ‘precious’. The daughter’s name remained Precious. Tulsi and Sunil were friends who shared joys and sorrows while collaborating in the film. What happens when your closest friend goes the furthest? Tulsi is experiencing the same thing now. ‘I am trying to decide whether it is true or not. When I woke up the next morning, I must have heard in my dream that Sunil had died,’ Tulsi still thinks it is unbelievable.
The acting footsteps left by Sunil in Nepali films were also being followed by new generations. He worked in dozens of Nepali films including Ranko, Sapana, Paripha, Gorkha Paltan, Shikari, Shikari-2, Papi Manche, Papi Manche-2, Alzhechh Kyare Pachhauri, Dewar Babu, Karma Yodha, Captain. He also worked in the Nepali comedy TV series ‘Meri Bassai’. Recently, he was in the film ‘Eklo’.
Sunil Thapa played the role of the chief in Tulsi's comeback film 'Pahad'. Tulsi keeps remembering the shooting of 'Pahad'. They used to remember the journey from 'Chino' to 'Pahad'. And they would say, 'How much we have changed, Tulsi.'
While remembering those days, Tulsi is still unable to accept that Sunil is no more. 'I was not trying to say anything about Sunil so quickly,' she laments, 'We used to advise him to say this during the release of Pahad. We used to joke. When the film was released, we used to tease him about how many people would be hired, and nowadays, people who cry for hire are being hired.'
Tulsi wanted Sunil to work in the new film too. She had said, 'You should do it.' That is a very difficult character.’ Someone would ask Sunil in a chat, ‘Is your best character Rate Kainlo?’ He would shake his head and say, ‘No. The best is yet to come.’ Sunil, who was always looking for the ‘best’, was the ‘best’ of many. Cinematographer Gauri Shankar Dhunju is currently in deep mourning. ‘They were very close. Friends who kept fighting,’ says Tulsi. Gauri Shankar’s wife passed away in 2078. Sunil called Gauri, who was going through a difficult time, ‘Where can I be sad at home? Come on, let’s live together.’ ‘Whenever I went to meet her, Sunil would shout ‘Oh Gauri’ over small things. They used to fight a lot. But now there was another emptiness in Gauri Shankar’s life,’ says Tulsi.
Tulsi will miss Sunil's friendship and work ethic. Remembering their warm relationships, Tulsi also wants to remind the new generation, 'Follow this culture, my child. Otherwise, you will be alone later.'
Film director Prakash Sayami remembers his warm relationship with Sunil. 'Sunil and I have always had a friendly relationship. Once, we went to Lumbini on the same flight for a film workshop with writer Vikram Bhakta Joshi, filmmaker Rajendra Shalav, artist Basundhara Bhusal and Sunil, and stayed in the same hotel together. That memory is still fresh,' he says through social media Facebook, 'Sunil, you will always be alive in our minds as the great artist and great human being.'
Actor Neer Shah, on the other hand, is going crazy with the pain of losing his friend. ‘I am not able to think or speak,’ he says, making his heart heavy, ‘My very good friend. So I lost a very good friend.’ Sunil was talking about Neer Shah till a few days ago. Sunil was shooting at that time. ‘He had promised to meet me. But he could not fulfill his promise,’ Neer Shah sounds sweet.
This surprise is also hurting the viewers who are watching Sunil and waiting on the screen. Sunil, who lives as a ‘villain’ on the screen, has repeatedly acted like a dead man in the reels. The viewers who are on the side of the ‘hero’ certainly rejoiced in it. But this great departure of Sunil, who has been maintaining good relationships in ‘real’ life, did not make it easy for anyone. Sunil is no longer physically present, but his anguish will always be felt by the entire film industry.
