Nischal Basnet – Journey, Filmmaking, Failure, HeartBreak, Love and Life

Back in Australia, I used to watch Nepali movies. It was then, when I realized that Nepali movie industry is too flawed. God knows how many times I must have cussed the movie makers of the movies I watched there.

I literally couldn’t go beyond ten minutes because those were not the kind of movies I wanted to watch. I perceived even I could make movies better than those.

After the university I was studying in, got shut down, I called home and told my dad that I wanted to come back but he insisted on getting a degree first.
I clearly told him that I couldn’t, because the university had already shut down and that if I didn’t return then, then I would never come back. The next morning, the ticket to Nepal arrived.

A night before my flight, my friends in Australia had organized a farewell dinner for me.

I told them that I would make a movie within five years and we would watch it right there at the theater in Sydney that we often used to go to. Right after 3 years, Loot came up.

All those frustrations and my bottled up emotions out of failures in every endeavor, my dissatisfaction in the then running Nepali movies and the fact that I had nothing else to do after returning to Nepal as the same person that had left it about 3 years back, imposed a sheer determination on me to make a good movie.

BUT, my knowledge about film making was null and to add to that, I had no contacts in the industry. So, I had to start from scratch.

I started googling about film-making and stuff related to it. I joined Oscar International College to study film-making and during that course, I assisted in some films like Goodbye Kathmandu and Jai Hos and short film like Innocent.

I was so thirsty of learning that I was even ready to pay to become a spot-boy so that I could learn something from the team. One of my friend’s acquaintances was a producer in a project whom I reached through my friend and explained all my eagerness and thirst of learning.

He gave me a task in production. Those are the times when I learnt the major do’s and donts of movie-making. Those learnings shaped the base and paved my way towards the making of Loot. I was almost 30 then.

At the age when people establish themselves into something, I was still trying out things after failures that popped up one after another. But, the happiness and the relief that the success of Loot brought is just unexplainable.

Not only the success of the movie enchanted me but the fact that finally something that I worked on, actually got not only accomplished, but became a huge success rejuvenated me.

It then gave me hope that this is it. This is where I should be. Now that I look back, I feel all the struggles and the frustrations were worth it.

It’s surprising and I often question myself if I am really the one who started this wave because I had no intentions to change or be the change maker.

All I wanted to do was to prove that I am also a film-maker and that I can make a bit different and fine movies. All that happened afterwards seems like a part of history.

At times, I enjoy it and sometimes, I still can’t believe. (A soft giggle followed).

Initially, I didn’t give much thought upon it but gradually, later releases began getting compared with Loot and there were talks in the air about how the changes in Nepali movies started from there.

I suppose, though it’s not an entire change in the fraternity, I have definitely inspired some filmmakers who had long been holding themselves with the fear of experimental movies not working well. So, I guess I have broken the boundaries somehow.

The way Deepak dai replied to me that he was following the footsteps set by us in movie-making after I had wished him and the Chhakka Panja team for their success, hit me with the realization that there’s still so much to do to take Nepali movies further ahead.

Statement like that from someone who was ruling the television world since way before I entered the industry was not only joy-enticing but inspiring enough to move me to do more.

There’s a lot more that we can learn from our seniors in the industry and vice versa to evolve a promising and an eminent film fraternity.

No, not at all. Instead, it challenges me to do better. With every movie I make, I think of ways of doing better and something new so it can mold with the changing taste of viewers.

It keeps me alert not to repeat the same work in my upcoming features and motivates me to make movies which satisfy not just me but the mass.

For example, Loot 2 is releasing very soon. During the making of this movie, I made sure not to repeat things that I have done in Loot because if I did, it’s just pointless to make a whole new movie unless, for money, which is definitely not my first priority.

It was actually weird. (Haha!) A night before its release, I was working till 2 am, making copies of the movie. The next morning at 5 am I had to go to cinema halls to provide movie prints and I was running hither and thither for work.

My friends, families started to call and congratulated me for the success of the movie. It was only after I got calls from media that I actually believed that the movie was doing good.

Later, in the afternoon, I visited cinema halls to see people’s reaction. It was a happy feeling altogether to get myself happy viewers.

Not just Nepali movie industry, in western society as well, there’s a way of thinking that after 2-3 films do well, the industry prospers and few failures mean we are at loss, which I believe is not true. Ours is in a transitional period.

Film-makers are trying to make good movies according to the varying taste of the generation. Some succeed and some still need to strive harder. Film-making culture is going good but film-watching is something we need to work on too.

There was a period when people, specially, young people would lift their brows and hesitate to go for a Nepali movie but now a days, we can see a lot of young troops are hitting the cinemas to watch Nepali movies, which is an amazing transformation. So, I think it’s going good.

Film-making is not an easy task. The struggle you need to do in this field is double the other and the success rate is comparatively less.

Only few out of hundreds succeed and the rest need to keep trying. If you don’t have it in you, then no matter how strong push you get, you aren’t heading anywhere. Nobody comes a star here and we don’t decide who shines the brightest or dies out.

There are a thousand of viewers out there to decide that. So, while working in the industry, you shouldn’t just think of giving it a shot but work
either giving all that you got or change your path. There will be hardships and struggles but if you keep up with your work, it will pay you back beautifully.

Well, looking at the graph of failures in my life, I would probably be working in a farm at my hometown, Jhapa. I had even told this to my dad that if I failed in the movie-industry too, I would marry the girl of his choice and would work in a farm growing crops.

I had no other options left. I have had enough of trying everything and getting nothing but failures.

I was about 5 years old and there was this girl named Geeta who used to live in our neighborhood. Our families used to tease us with each other’s names. We haven’t seen each other for almost three decades now. That was my first crush.

My first major heartbreak was pretty major (Haha!).

It happened after high school and took me 7-8 years to get over her. I had become a Devdas then, binge-drinking, wandering here and there, reckless about everything, stalking her and stuff like that. Later, I realized it was somehow my mistake but by that time, her wedding invite had already come on my hand. What then, I happily attended her wedding and wished her well.

Anything you want to say to youths out there on how to deal with heartbreaks?
Heartbreak is common. It happens to most of the people in their lifetime and its ok not getting consoled by anything. Even I didn’t.

If you keep yourself busy with something to work upon and shift your attention towards it, the pain will gradually go away.

But, if you keep thinking about it, doing nothing but talking about it all the time, drugging yourself, you’ll never come out of it. First thing first, never ever take anyone for granted. And, don’t hesitate to take the first step of asking what was wrong.

I think I would still be the same Nischal Basnet but yes, I would definitely have made more good movies and gathered more knowledge about movie making by then.

Apart from that, I would be living a happy married life with my wife, Swastima and hopefully we would have our kids as well. (A bashful laughter filled the room).

You see, Loot was the outcome of my frustrations. Our brain works wonderfully. It gets busy in the path you propel it to. If you are able to find out anything that can consume your brain and keep it busy, frustration and difficulties become secondary.

Certainly, there will be setbacks and frustrations during the process of our work, but trust me, they won’t be as depressing as sitting idle, cursing your fate and doing nothing.

I had insecure moments when I would step back and think what if this one fails too, but with the belief and support from my family,

I could collect myself after every failure, to begin a new venture again.
And now, I am proud of the strength that all my failures provided me, enabled me to multi-task and made me more competent.

We live in a country where we are not entirely free to do what we want. The norms and restrictions set by our societies and hence by our families, because of the fear of society mark the first and foremost boundary of our lives.

However, I would like to suggest the youths of our country to do what they want but also make sure what they do is liked by people sitting next to them. The sense of right and wrong should be in you. Everyone who tries to climb up falls. You should get up by yourself. Stop seeking for support all the time. Don’t build your walls too high that no one can reach you when you need them. Life goes on. You should flow with it too.