I started my distribution career from ‘Kabaddi’. That film was sent to us on a pen drive. That pen drive was not ‘encrypted’, anyone could use it. To avoid piracy, I used to travel from one city to another and show films.
We have started distribution in very limited halls, booking a hall, showing the film in temple or school auditorium. Not an investment, not even the circulating money. However, it started from there. If it was not done then, it would not be done today.
I live in Texas, tomorrow I have to go to New York and Denver, so I have to stay in a hotel. At that time, I was in minus when I paid the rent of the hall by showing the movie for 10/15 dollars. Even after that I continued to distribute. If it were not so, the market would not have been created even now.
‘Poorna Bahadur Ko Sarangi’ is my 36th distribution film. The market was growing. Every year, people from Nepal started going to America either on DV or on student visa. The audience was also increasing. The Bhutanese community is also increasing. The resettled Bhutanese community is now the majority audience of Nepali films.
50 percent of my audience in America is the Bhutanese community. Since the introduction of DCV files, film distribution has become easier. Hall also began to accept. While booking any hall, their first question is in which format your film is.
It was the third and fourth series of ‘Kabaddi’ that I took advantage of for the first time. I did the distribution of ‘Chakkapanja 5’ only. Before that, there was private booking. When calculating the profit, I got a good profit from ‘Chha Maya Chhapakkai’. While the film called ‘Aama’ was doing well, Covid stopped it.
After Kovid, there are 4 Mahapurush, continued, Kabaddi. Now ‘Degree Milea’ is also good. Sometimes we underestimate the films, the underestimated ‘Dayarani’ also earned good money.
13 years ago, when distributing films, 20 places were targeted. One-by-one shows were targeted in one city. Now my target is 100 cities. After two or four months, it reaches a hundred cities. Comparing these two times, this is a big leap.
This is the case in every business. People living abroad go to Nepali restaurants and eat Nepali food. They become nostalgic towards Nepali food and culture. The film can act as a bridge to connect Nepalis living abroad with Nepal.
Where 20 cities and where 67 halls. That too 2, 3 shows daily. Now there is also a tenth show. The bounce is huge. If ‘Poorna Bahadur Ko Sarangi’ continues at this level, it is estimated to earn one million dollars. Now it has earned around 6 crore Nehru.
The audience prefers simple stories. The audience is watching the artist as well. If you look at an actor who is very successful, you will compare him with his previous film or say that he is a recent hit or flop. They are looking at what he has done in the society. Therefore, it seems that the audience liked ‘Poorna Bahadur’s sarangi’.
The audience has been watching Vijay Baral for a long time. BK of ‘Kabaddi’ i.e. Vijay Baral. There are as many fans of Dayahang as there are sold-out fans. Seeing him in the lead role and his acting not only in the US but also in the UK and Australia, there are few who do not appreciate Vijay.
Another thing, the story touched. Separation in Baua is also happening in Nepal. I think that the story of how many people could not come to Nepal when their father was ill touched them. Mainly the content is the key.
For the film to be a hit, the content had to be good, it had to be showable to children. My priority is to make the child’s ticket cheaper. Because, the first thing is that when parents want to go to see a movie, there are two children at home, that child cannot be left at home. The problem of not understanding when taking the child. Therefore, children are slowly starting to understand the film even though they are watching subtitles. These are the same Nepali programs and songs that you watch at home.
Films with the taste of Nepal are preferred in America. Films with the taste, culture and history of Nepal which we do not get in Hindi and English films, we like these films more. Which is also called audience organic. On the whole, it is mainly the content that ‘Poorna Bahadur’s Sarangi’ also confirmed.
When I showed ‘Mahapurusha’ in America, I showed it to a little more than 50 theaters. Then I tried my hand in Canada, UK and Europe. I started the box office in UK too. Earlier there was no concept of watching movies in the hall. Even now, many films are screened at the banquet.
Ever since we released it in America and Australia, especially at the box office, there was a demand that it would be good to have it there, so we started from there. It used to be difficult to get shows in the UK. Now that it is difficult to get tickets, the show has been added. The number of Nepalis is large.
In terms of earnings, the top 3 international markets that earn the most are the US, Australia and the Middle East. The next emerging markets are Japan, UK, Europe and South Korea. Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong are very limited markets. They do not release more than 2/3 films in a year.
In America, Nepali films have been releasing regularly at the box office. Australia and the Middle East are the same. Europe, UK, Japan and South Korea are the ones to work hard for this year. Then there are Nepali speakers in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Burma. Apart from that, there are India and China. After reaching the main country we are working towards it
We have started some work in India as well. Due to sensors and complicated process, the release is a bit late. Of course, ‘Boksi Ko Ghar’ and ‘Mansara’ were also released there. However, it was released two to three months after its release in Nepal. It is fun when it is released on the same day and immediately.
China’s problem is language. Either had to be dubbed in Chinese, subtitles alone are not enough. Our big aim is to penetrate China and India. We will take ‘Poorna Bahadur’s Sarangi’ to these two markets anyway. The rest of our international distribution will benefit from our current experience. We will not leave these two markets.
When we take a movie, we mainly watch the banner. If it is a new person and a new banner, there is a situation where the script is heard first. Another thing, the established banner approach at the beginning. We have participated as a team since the announcement of the film.
The precondition we have is that we have to release it on the same day. The film had to be delivered on time, so that we could deliver it to the theater. We decide whether the banner, the story and the audience are digested/not digested.
In America, work is being done to take the film to non-Nepali speakers as well. Americans are also looking at ‘Poorna Bahadur’s Sarangi’. I follow that style when marketing. A small number of outsiders are watching our films.
We still need to work to expand the market of Nepali films abroad. The government has not felt that distribution is difficult. I don’t expect anything from NRNA. They come and go during their two-year term. When our film is on, they neither promote it nor go to see it.
In particular, I have not left any of these theaters to run ‘Poorna Bahadur’s Sarangi’, even if there are 15,000 or 20,000 Nepalis, I have released the film in those halls. As they get over excited, the house is full in the first show.
This is the case in every business. People living abroad go to Nepali restaurants and eat Nepali food. They become nostalgic towards Nepali food and culture. The film can act as a bridge to connect Nepalis living abroad with Nepal.
Just yesterday a sister sent me a video. She understands Nepali but does not know how to speak it. She had enjoyed the movie and sent the video. Now the third generation has also emerged in the diaspora. The second generation sometimes misleads the third.
Many viewers of the last generation also watched ‘Gaon Inga Bato’. There was worldwide media coverage, college students watched a lot because they went to the festival. They don’t understand comedy movies that much, but they love serious movies where there is a sense of story.
In America, Nepali films have been releasing regularly at the box office. Australia and the Middle East are the same. Europe, UK, Japan and South Korea are the ones to work hard for this year. Then there are Nepali speakers in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Burma. Besides India and China. After reaching the main country, we are working towards it.
(Based on a conversation with Subedi, an American distributor of Nepali films and one of the producers of Purna Bahadur’s Sarangi.)
