Photo Courtesy: Raman Maharjan

Anil Thapa, a new face in the field of film direction in Nepal has recently directed a movie named “Ko Afno”. He has completed his education in Business Marketing and has recently decided to come back to Nepal and help the film industry prosper with his new ideas and perceptions. He had been living in the USA since 1988 A.D and has returned after 27 years. His interest lies in film making, script writing and much more.

“The only person who has artistic control is the director, and 'director' is how you spell God in Hollywood. – Tom Clancy”

The DWIT News Team managed to organize a short interview with Anil. Here are his thoughts:

Can you briefly tell us about yourself and your educational background?

“Yes, I am Anil Thapa. I completed my degree in Business Marketing. I lived in the States for 27 years. I worked in the Corporate USA for last 5 years.”

What is your source of inspiration to enter into the world of film making?

“I have always been keen to watch movies. I not only watched them to enjoy, I liked to see every prospect of the movie. I used to see whether the movie had a good story flow or not, the scenes shot, the acting skills and other small details of the film. Initially, like every other person I wanted to be a movie star but never really put an effort to it. When I had my son, held him for the first time in my arms, I sensed my own mortality. It was then when I realized I must live up to my dreams of making a movie. It was never too late to start living your dreams, feeling the blood rushing in your veins and the adrenalin pumping. So I decided to come back here and work on a story I wrote myself.”

What was your first step in the field of movie making?

“In order to be a good director, one has to have vision, power to communicate to the team well. One has to understand how people think, what motivates them and what inspires them. I’d say I do have all those qualities so I worked in two short films back when I was in the states. One was named “Changing Shadows” and the other was “Second Look”. You can watch them at http://www.eight23films.com/.”

You wrote the story yourself, so what it is about?

“I wrote, directed and produced the movie “Ko Afno” with my investment. Richa Sharma and Sushank Mainali are the lead actors in the movie. You will be completely shocked by the alterations I’ve made with the appearance of glamorous Richa Sharma. Along with Richa and Susank all other artists like Menuka Pradhan, Subhash Thapa, Sudam CK, Shanti Giri, Rajan Khatiwada also can be seen in different characters. The story is about a rich family who cannot have their own children so they adopt a boy from a poor family. What happens next is a surprise which will be revealed on 19^th Feb, 2016.”

What is the role of Richa Sharma (national award winner) in that movie?

“She will be acting as the biological mother of the son who is adopted by a rich family. You’ll be seeing a completely different Richa in the movie. Richa has expressive big eyes, I have disfigured her face completely for the movie but her eyes are clear and expressive. Her eyes clearly express the pain of a mother who has lost her only child.”

What difference do you find in film making in Nepal and USA?

“Film making here and there cannot be compared at all. The budget has a huge difference which affects the movies greatly. We have a budget of 80-90 Lakhs whereas they have 200 million or more. So they cannot be compared at all. To improve the situation of Nepali film industry, political stability is a must.”

What challenges did you face in the process of making this movie?

“Initially, I wanted to give my story to somebody else to direct and produce the movie. I tried to hire a director but every time my offer was turned down. I felt betrayed but today the rejection has turned out to be a blessing. I got to realize what potentials I have.”

Interview was conducted by joint contribution of Ashmita Thapa and Osheen Shrestha.

You can check out the trailer  for "Ko Afno" here :