He is what one would call as the brooding face of the Nepali cinema's present phase! He is passionate, believes in dreams , and it did not take time for Sudarshan Thapa to move out of his mellowing dreams and carve a niche' for himself. The man was the centre of attention last year as he made the hit Mero Euta Saathi Cha with Aryan Sigdel ,and Namrata Shrestha. Sudarshan will now be making his Second onscreen directorial with Mero Love Story. He is also discussing the script of his few next. Busy man he is. This entertaining column is a chit-chat between me (Kumar Bhattarai) and the director himself(sudarshan Thapa),which i think is an interesting piece to share.
Kumar : Mero euta..was one of the finest movie that comes in Nepali celluloid so far ,now you again are set for next game with "Mero Love Story",any tensions,fears...
Sudarshan: Ha,Ha.I love this question. I would like to break it into two categories. One is- all the time even the greatest of the greatest directors comes with certain tensions and pressure when it comes to his/her next film,and am not an expectional. And two - yes, expectaions scares me ,especially after Mero euta saathi's phenominal success.
Sudarshan Thapa: Now you tell me, as a writer of this film, do your nerves give you a goose bump ?
Kumar :My film ,i believe is neither rooted in reality nor are they escapist fare. I have written a story,on what i emotionally felt at that few particular moments,when i was visualising all those agendas. Actually, i have never looked it that seriously though i'll go into a cave when it gets realese in the theatres.
Kumar : Tell us about the casts and crews.
Sudarshan.As you know it,we've penciled into Aryan Sigdel, Vinay Shrestha and Richa Sharma with some mix bag of yesteryear's popular senior members for the casts thing..and yeah Rajesh Sing is operating camera,there is Suren Paudel for me again as an editor after Mero Euta..it's like home coming .
Kumar :But you share the same top line(actors) to First love....
Sudarshan : Yes,we share the same toplines but we are making two different movies with two different themes,though actors wise we have same people on the set....and i guess it has nothing to do with who is working with-who...if you see the examples from hollywood or a bollywood Amitabh Bachchan,Parween Babi and Amzad Khan did so many films together and they only proved better when they came together on screen....Content and substance of the film do matter ..rest is a history when your work is appericiated.
Sudarshan :How much do you like sticking to the vis-a-vis allowing actors to improvise ?
Kumar : For me the scripts is the Gita and the Bible,but then essentially as a writer I see my role as a refree at a football match,coaching is not my duty then..it's all over to my director..and for this moment on the filed the actors have to discover their skill and score with the fine coaching of you.If they go offside/out of character or out of the storyline then you blow the stick...Hmm..to improvise is the essence for all of us because it means we are in touch with our instincts.
Kumar : You seem to be moving away from presonalised cinema. Is this a conscious decision ?
Sudarshan : If you mean that the larger than life Mero love story...has been a departure from those some-how-real life characters of MERO EUTA SAATHI CHA,then yes it was a conscious decision. But i would hope that one single film is not an indication of what will follow. Only when we experiment with what lies beyond our comfort zone,can we evolve as storytellers.
Kumar : Is censorship necessary ?
Sudarshan : We should not censor creative arts. A big No...
Sudarshan : You have a very strong urban sensibility that comes through brilliantly in your work. Do you think you are limited to that demographic or do you belive you can cut across wider sections of the country ?
Kumar : I would hope that my subjects are not limited to a particualr kind of audience. The feedback i recieve from people across the country,be it a metropolis or a small town,regarding the very subject we are working together,is encouraging enough to make me belive that my work will influence people across all demographics. Furthermore, I also believe that as long as the core of the film, i.e. the story, is universal,it will be understood by all regardless of its treatment.
Kumar: Does a film maker ever know exactly what the audience wants ?
Sudarshan : In a country like Nepal it is very difficult to judge the pulse of the people. With the different of tastes how can we judge what the audience wants ? What we can definately know is what we want. So probably the solution lies there. Making something that we want rather than trying to judge what people in different cites or Critics want. If we're lucky our taste matches that of the majority..than we have a hit.
Kumar : If you were not in cinema what would be your profession ?
Sudarshan : I would have been a Pan Pasale..JOKES aparts..i would have been an actor of a theatre then because i love the whole proccess of not being to your self but rather being to an unknown person you never got to know before.
Kumar :Your favourite actor/actress...
Sudarshan : Hmm..all of them are doing great jobs.
Sudarshan : Tell me your favourite actor/actress...
Kumar : Saugat Malla,Aryan,Vinaya and Richa Sharma Ha,Ha...
Kumar :One film that you are dyeing to see....
Sudarshan: There are many actually!
Sudarshan :So what after doing this...
Kumar: There are few projects i'm in talk to....amm..may be i'll be busy shooting some short films of my own..
Kumar :Was there any trigger point that made you turn Director ?
Sudarshan : I joined Neer Shah's film school as a student in acting and i always wanted to be an actor..did few serials too....But there was something waiting me and now i realized dreaming of becoming an actor is my self triger point of becoming a director.
Kumar: So what to expect from Mero love story for now ?
Sudarshan: Together we (you and me), We've tried to come up with a fresh love tale with so much of fun,emotion and entertaintment in the bill..so as for now I,along with my team will have a focuse to put in sincere effort to make an original work with a heart in it.
