It’s April 19, 2024, and you’re reading Off the Record.
I’m Pranaya Rana and in this newsletter, we’ll stop, take a deep breath, and dive into one singular issue that defined the past week.
You can read Off the Record for free by visiting this link and subscribing to receive this newsletter in your inbox every Friday.ᅠAll posts are free but you can pledge a subscription if you like my work. Those in Nepal can use the QR code below:
Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. It’s the year 2081 here in Nepal but there’s little that’s new. Everything seems to repeat in some form or the other when it comes to Nepali politics and governance.
We have 12 new free subscribers to the newsletter this week and I’ve received some financial support through eSewa with no identifying information. So if you’d like to receive your paid subscription, please do send me an email. Thank you to all of you who continue to read, share, and subscribe. Going into the new year, I hope we can all take this newsletter to new heights!
Now for the news.
Police report implicates Lamichhane
On Monday, the Butwal Area Police Office submitted its month-long investigation report into the embezzlement of funds from the Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative to the Rupandehi district attorney. The report, according to Kantipur daily, mentions Home Minister Rabi Lamichhane by name nine times as having illegally transferred Rs 20 million from Supreme Cooperative into the bank account of Gorkha Media, the company that owns and operates Galaxy 4K Television where Lamichhane was once managing director. The same Kantipur article goes on to allege that Lamichhane has not been named as a defendant by the district attorney due to his position as the Home Minister.
For those new to this ongoing controversy, Kantipur has been on a crusade to ‘expose’ Lamichhane’s links with fraud and embezzlement at the country’s various financial cooperatives. These cooperatives are small-scale savings institutions that collect money from depositors and are only allowed to provide loans to those same depositors. They usually provide higher interest rates than larger banks but are also notoriously prone to financial fraud and embezzlement. Lamichhane has been pulled into controversy after Kantipur alleged that he was directly involved in embezzling funds from various cooperatives alongside his former partner GB Rai, the owner of Galaxy 4K and the numerous cooperatives, to keep the television network afloat. So far, all Kantipur had were allegations and some circumstantial evidence but now, with the police report directly naming Lamichhane, something will have to be done.
For a primer on the whole saga, read this previous newsletter:
Lamichhane himself has been vehemently denying all allegations. His party too has rallied behind its chairman. But the Nepali Congress party, which is now in opposition, has been calling for Lamichanne’s head, demanding that a parliamentary probe committee be constituted and Lamichhane step down as Home Minister in the meantime. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has so far refused to entertain their demands and has backed Lamichhane. But things are coming to a head now and Lamichhane needs to put his money where his mouth has been. If he is truly innocent then he should allow the probe committee to look into the matter. Certainly, he’s afraid that the process will be politicized and that the investigation will not be impartial but that’s a risk he needs to be willing to take. This spat between the country’s Home Minister and the largest newspaper needs to end once and for all.
Provinces in turmoil
When the ruling coalition changed at the federal level earlier in March, the provincial governments followed suit. The Nepali Congress, once the coalition partner, withdrew its support for all provincial governments, necessitating changes in government and for each chief minister to seek new votes of confidence.
On Tuesday, Saroj Kumar Yadav, chief minister of Madhesh Province, won the vote of confidence for the fourth time since he took up the post. This time, he passed despite opposition from the Nepali Congress, the Janamat Party, and the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party. Things even took an ugly turn after lawmakers from the Congress and the Janamat Party vandalized the assembly hall and attempted to seize the mic from House Speaker Ram Chandra Mandal, accusing him of moving ahead with the meeting despite opposition. Despite his win, Chief Minister Yadav will have difficulty governing in the face of such stiff opposition from parties that have significant numbers in the provincial assembly.
In Gandaki Province, Chief Minister Khagaraj Adhikari’s appointment is currently sub judice at the Supreme Court after the Nepali Congress mounted a legal challenge arguing that Adhikari’s appointment was unconstitutional. Former chief minister Surendra Pandey of the Congress had resigned after the Maoists withdrew their support for the government. A UML-Maoist coalition had then picked Adhikari to lead the province based on commanding a majority in the provincial assembly. Pandey of the Congress alleged that the Speaker of the assembly had also signed Adhikari’s claim, which would be unconstitutional since the speaker is supposed to be impartial and only vote in certain cases of deadlock. If the court sides with Pandey and annuls Adhikari’s appointment, the entire process of picking a chief minister will begin again.
Meanwhile, things aren’t much better in Sudurpashchim Province. Ever since the coalition change at the federal level, the province has been seeking a new chief minister who can command a majority. But things have been difficult, with provincial lawmakers divided on who to support. The Unified Socialists’ Dirgha Sodari had attempted to stake his claim for the chief minister but couldn’t muster enough votes. So it came down to two politicians from the Nagarik Unmukti Party, which has seven seats in the 53-member assembly. Both candidates presented their claims to Governor Miya who rejected both on Tuesday, arguing that there couldn’t be two candidates from the same party. And so, on Thursday, neither of them became chief minister. Instead, negotiations by politicians at the federal level led to Sodari, the Unified Socialists candidate, being appointed chief minister with the support of the UML.
Are you still with me? The primary thing to understand here is that the provinces remain at the mercy of the federal level. Any change at the federal level has ripple effects on the provinces, leading to changes in government. Who becomes chief minister also depends on the good graces of federal-level politicians and party chiefs. Federalism is being scuppered before it has a chance to take off. The local level is untouchable for five years so the parties are using the provinces to hammer out power-sharing deals and keep coalition partners happy. No wonder the public at large is losing its faith in federalism. All they see is the parties using the system to keep themselves in power.
Sports minister takes action against Congress MP
On Thursday, newly appointed Minister for Youth and Sports Biraj Bhakta Shrestha ordered that land and property belonging to Deepak Khadka, a Member of Parliament from the Congress party, be sealed. Khadka had been illegally occupying land and property belonging to the Nepal Scouts, the once well-known volunteer organization for boys and girls, at Lainchour for years. Khadka had reportedly leased 3 ropanis (1526.21 square meters) of land from the Scouts for 10 years in the Nepali year 2065. However, he quickly moved to take over an additional 9 ropanis (4578.63 meters) of land and rented it all out to third parties. There are currently numerous shops and restaurants, along with a popular wedding venue, on the encroached land. These businesses all pay rent to Khadka’s company while utilities like electricity and water are billed to the Scouts. Khadka also owed millions of rupees in unpaid rent to the Scouts.
Khadka refused to vacate the land even when his contract expired in 2075, leading the Scouts to mount a legal challenge. The Kathmandu District Court ruled in Khadka’s favor, citing documents extending the contract, which the Scouts have alleged was forged. Upon appeal, the Patan High Court, in 2079, reversed the decision and ordered Khadka to vacate the premises. Khadka had so far refused to comply with the court’s orders.
Minister Shrestha has now finally taken action, sealing all buildings. Traditionally, the Ministry of Youth and Sports is seen as a weak ministry, one where party members whose number has come are parked. None of the ministers were ever powerful enough to challenge one of the Congress party’s MPs. Until now, that is. Since the ministry also oversees the Nepal Scouts, Minister Shrestha was able to take some long-overdue action.
This, however, is certain to inflame tensions between Shrestha’s Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Nepali Congress, which has been demanding the RSP chair Rabi Lamichhane step down as Home Minister. It remains to be seen whether Khadka will face any parliamentary inquiry or investigation by the police for misusing public property. I hope this doesn’t devolve into a political bargaining chip by the RSP to use against the Congress as that would be very unfortunate.
And now
After all that heavy political news, let’s talk about something a bit more fun — movies.
The deep dive: What kind of films do we want to see?
Last Friday, April 12, the film The Red Suitcase was released to the public all over Nepal. The film was showing at all movie theaters, except for QFX, Nepal’s largest movie chain. The story emerged that QFX had refused to provide prime time slots for The Red Suitcase over other domestic and international films, asking that the film be released a week later. The filmmakers took umbrage and decided to go ahead with showings at all other movie theaters.
However, many of the other theaters didn’t provide The Red Suitcase with a prime time slot either. Most theaters had just a single showing of the film each day, usually in the afternoons. The prime time evening and night slots went to other more mainstream Nepali fare like Degree Maila and Mahajatra, both slapstick comedies that the Nepali audience enjoys most. As of writing, Degree Maila has six shows each day at FCube Theaters, Mahajatra has five while The Red Suitcase has just one. At Big Cinemas, Degree Maila has 10 showings, Mahajatra has five and The Red Suitcase has none. The only theater offering The Red Suitcase twice daily is One Cinemas, at 3.15PM and 5PM. Even here, Degree Maila has 10 shows a day.
Why does this matter? The Red Suitcase is not a mainstream Nepali film so I understand the reluctance of theaters to give it fewer shows. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is an arthouse flick, not exactly the kind of film that packs theaters. It stars Saugat Malla and Bipin Karki, two very popular actors, but it seems like theaters did not deem their presence a big enough draw. Movie theaters will play what the audience wants to watch; it is no fault of theirs that the Nepali movie-watching audience tends to stay away from films that are slightly offbeat or experimental.
This isn’t just the case with The Red Suitcase. Even Min Bham’s critically acclaimed Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen) had few shows and didn’t run for long, and that film was much more widely anticipated. Both films were shown on the international festival circuit but Kalo Pothi attracted more buzz, given its Best Film win at the Venice Film Festival’s International Critics’ Week. It also had a far more intriguing trailer with striking visuals that made audiences want to watch it. Still, it didn’t come anywhere close to making the kind of cash that other mainstream films rake in. For an oblique open-ended art film, it did well. The Red Suitcase had a buzz going for it but that wasn’t enough to convince theaters.
Forget film festival offerings, even offbeat films made in Nepal for Nepali audiences don’t end up doing well. Recent films like Chiso Ashtray, Aina Jhyal ko Putali, and Paani Photo were all well-reviewed but didn’t attract audiences. The film Hari, one of my favorite Nepali films, ran for barely a week because no one went to see it. Meanwhile, the slapstick Chhakka Panja franchise, which is currently in its fourth installment, makes millions each time despite its lowbrow humor, lack of coherence, and over-the-top acting of its stars.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Critically acclaimed films rarely make a lot of money in this part of the world. Even most of Bollywood’s mainstream output is formulaic drivel that is meant to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. It’s the same thing here. Many Nepali films follow Bollywood trends but the industry has its own quirks. The Chhakka Panja series, for instance, always has a ‘social’ element where taboos and social ills are dissected, albeit in a very superficial manner. The audience in this part of the world consists mostly of people who go to the movies purely for entertainment. They want to laugh, enjoy themselves, and have a good time, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
The young, hip, urban audience is the one doing diversity in Nepali films a disservice. This audience demographic stays away from mainstream Nepali fare because of its cliche plot lines, terrible acting, and bad script. This audience consistently complains about the lack of quality Nepali films, ones that take risks and do something different with a creative script, unorthodox performances, or striking cinematography. But when something different does come around, this demographic doesn’t go to watch those films either, instead waiting for them to become available on YouTube. They would rather spend their money on the next installment of the Marvel franchise.
Films cost a lot of money to make and Nepali producers are notably finicky about where they put their money. (An aside: Kudos to Icefall Productions, one of the few Nepali production houses taking chances on more experimental fare like Aina Jhyal ko Putali and The Red Suitcase). Few large production houses are willing to take risks on artistic fare that might win awards but lose money. So directors working with an offbeat script either have to seek funding from abroad, as directors Min Bham and Deepak Rauniyar often do, or scrape together funds from friends and well-wishers. When their films bomb at the box office, the opportunities for these directors to make another film get noticeably smaller. What ends up happening is that young, creative filmmakers get disillusioned and end up leaving the industry or worse, decide that they have to compromise on their artistic vision and go mainstream.
It’s a tragedy. Despite the success of films like Kalo Pothi and Seto Surya on the festival circuit, similar films receive lackluster responses back home. This only cements the perception that these kinds of films are meant for international audiences. What needs to happen is for those who claim to love films to go out and see them. Whenever an interesting independent film comes out, go see it. It might be a bad film but it’s just an hour-and-a-half and a few hundred rupees. The filmmakers will appreciate it and hopefully, have enough funds to take another stab at trying something new. Maybe chains like QFX can also take a chance. I know that the people who run QFX love films so perhaps they can provide alternative screening provisions for films that deserve a bigger audience. They can chalk it up to their Corporate Social Responsibility, if need be.
The thing is, a vast majority of Nepali films are objectively terrible but audiences love them. Some directors are happy making commercial films that entertain audiences while others would prefer to go in a more creative direction and create art. There should be space for both. Art films will never make as much money as commercial films but there’s no reason why they can’t have a modest collection that makes back the budget. Not every film needs to be a blockbuster. There’s also prestige. Nepali films have never won any major international awards. The last time a ‘Nepali’ film was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars, it was Caravan (also known as Himalaya), which Eric Valli, a Frenchman, directed. I’m sure many producers would love to have their film win an Oscar for the very first time.
As for The Red Suitcase, is it a good film? Yes and no. It has an interesting conceit, fine performances from Saugat Malla and Bipin Karki, but the plot is cliche and the dialogue pretentious. The cinematography is beautiful at times but it is more style over substance. All of that said, do I think you should go out and see it? Absolutely.
That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of Off the Record.
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please consider sharing it with others who might enjoy weekly updates from Nepal or consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading Off the Record! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Off the Record is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Like to subscribe as a Nepali reader. Been trying but it’s in $ may I humble urge you to make it in Nepali Rs as well.