History Of Nepali Movie And Cinema Industries Of Nepal

The making of Nepali movies is said to have begun with D. B. Pariyar's Satya Harishchandra, which was the first Nepali Language film to be shot. It was produced from Kolkata, India, and was released on September 14, 1951. Aama (meaning mother) was the first Nepali movie produced and released on October 7, 1964. It was produced by the Information Department of His Majesty's Government Of Nepal (now Government of Nepal). “Aama”- A Nepali movie was directed by Hira Singh Khatri with the lead actors Shiva Shanker Manandhar and Bhuwan Thapa, who are regarded as the first actors in the history of the Nepali movie industry. The first Nepali movie to be produced under a private banner was Maitighar (meaning the birth home of a girl), which was released at the end of 1966 by Sumonanjali Films Pvt. Ltd. Although it was a Nepali movie, it had many Indians contributing toward the making of the film. Mala Sinha had the lead role, along with C P Lohani, whom she later married. Special appearances of Sunil Dutt and comedian Rajendra Nath were also introduced in the following Nepali movie. This Nepali movie was directed by B S Thapa and music scored by Jaidev, a veteran music maestro, it had Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, and Manna Dey, all of them established Indian singers, doing the playback-singing along with the household names of Nepali music, like Narayan Gopal, Prem Dhoj Pradhan, C P Lohani, and Aruna Lama.

Then the government established the Royal Nepal Film Corporation in 1971. Mann Ko Bandh was the first Nepali movie produced by the Corporation. Prakesh Thapa was the director of this Nepali movie. Nati Kaji and Shiva Shanker were the song composers. Amber Gurung scored the background music. The film premiered in 1973 in Kathmandu. Mann Ko Bandh was followed by Kumari (the first Eastman color Nepali movie) in 1977, Sindoor in 1980, and Jeevan Rekha in series. The success of these films opened up avenue for private parties to enter into filmmaking as industrial endeavor.