PORTRAYING NEPAL'S WAR

The bravery of Gorkhali soldiers during the great expansion drive of Nepal is something that we shall cherish forever. Thanks to the essays that delineated their bravery in our course books, we feel proud to be a part of the bloodline that kept the East India Company searching for ways to break down our forces. Wouldn't it have been interesting to film their act of valor with great precision and allow us to live the moment in a more lively way?

Every time I watch movies that portray the great wars of the world history, I imagine what it would look like to watch our own national heroes involved in a heavy battle against their opposition. One of the films would focus on the life of Prithvi Narayan Shah and his extraordinary tale to unite all the small states into one single country. The other would revolve around the story of Bhakti Thapa and revere his indefatigable spirit.

If kollywood was to take inspiration from these heroes, Nepali cinemas' profit would skyrocket. Every single Nepali would make sure that the halls get housefull status for over a month. After all, the public would have seen the epic tales of the historical figures for the first time. 

I bet the audience would definitely respect the efforts that the filmmakers would put to add life to the historical characters. And the audience would realize that filming the battle scenes would be a very difficult job. One that requires adequate research to make sure facts aren't manipulated just in the name of publicizing its inception and making the film even more successful. 

The filmmakers have a hard time figuring out the geography that they have to shoot for these battle scenes. Nepal's rocky terrains and the location of several forts in India mean that it will be hard to take the cast crew to a real fort. For example, with Nalapani located in India, it would be necessary to build a fort similar to that at Nalapani in Nepal. Then it would be necessary to bring crew that look similar to the warriors of East India Company. Or, bringing in soldiers with military background with their arsenal loaded in the scene would be an even better idea. While on our side, we will definitely have plenty of Nepali warriors who would be willing to be a part of the history. But, all of these ideas require a huge amount of money to turn the ideas into reality.

Whenever I imagine our warriors taking out their Khukuris and yelling and running madly as hell towards the opposition, the scene becomes absolutely breathtaking and truly patriotic. It just feels like being on the battlefield and working under the great leaders of that time. Whenever I try to imagine the battlefield scenario, the energy that comes from it is so powerful that it compels me to spring into a significant work.

More than that, if such films were made in 3D than we could feel the adrenaline filling our body when we see Nepali soldiers outplaying the opposition. On the other hand, it would be delightful to watch the cannon balls fired by the opposition unable to find the targeted Nepali soldiers.

Wouldn't it be more interesting to see these Khukuris
(the weapons) on the
battlefield in a war film?

Every time I think about it, I desperately want my dream of filming the rich history to turn into reality. It would be one of those moments when I could finally take proud at what my ancestors did to defend this country from external forces. I could even think of the film getting an international name and fame in all the national and foreign television networks. Discovery Channel, National Geographic and History Channel would document further after witnessing the history's details in the film and maybe after the production of the documentary, get a repeat telecast in every few weeks. Maybe they could even create a mini-series. Who knows on the bright fairy tale side of Hollywood, Leonardo Di Caprio would be more than happy to produce the film and bring Nepal's history to the world! What more mesmerizing could it get than having these crazy ideas taking shape. 

I am sure that there will come a time when a Nepali director would take the opportunity to bring life to our history's characters and would provide a glimpse of what it looked like to feel the 'Great Nepal' campaign taking full shape. It would enlighten the minds of Nepali, both the young and old, and shed light on the wars that made Nepal earn the tag of 'Land of the Brave Gorkhas'. It would also make everyone blessed to witness history in the making. 

We just have to have hope that a Nepali would document our own Gorkhali soldiers' gallant attitude!