Director KP Pathak has been active in the Nepali entertainment industry and earned his name in the international community through Nepali documentaries, film festivals, and films. The former president of the Film Director Society is also the Chairperson of the Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF), which is being organized in Kathmandu from March 21-25. KP Pathak talks about ups-and-downs of Nepali film market, and the upcoming film festival, NIFF, in this interview.
How do you view the current situation of the Nepali film industry?
The specialty of the Nepali movie industry is such that we can’t predict. For instance, ‘Purna Bahadur ko Sarangi’ was like a tsunami that broke all records. No one saw it coming. We will barely see such a kind of movie and such a massive hit any sooner. However, other makers trying to copy the same pattern or storyline will never lead to success. Purana Bahadur saw such a level of audience because of the setting and storyline that the film was based on. Here, in a year, only four to five films succeed, and others can barely get medium investment. I have been saying that 95 percent of the movies don’t even collect the amount they invested while making the film. This year, four to five movies now seem to have raised investment. The quota for the year is almost filled. Who has time to sit and watch a 2.5-hour long film? I always say that the duration of movies needs to be reduced to somewhere between one and a half hours to almost two hours at max.
How is the industry moving ahead?
Given the current scenario of the Nepali movie industry, cost-cutting has become crucial for survival. Rather than spending millions of rupees on big artists, the producers can work on a share basis with the big names and senior-level technicians. It is so unfair for only producers to bear all the losses for a film. Hiring top-level stars at more than 20 lakh rupees as remuneration for a film is slowly becoming unfavourable for this industry. Many directors and producers are racing to make numerous movies, which the Nepali film market cannot even manage efficiently. The Nepali market requires 104 films over 52 weeks. Making movies after understanding the psychology and needs of Nepali audiences and minimizing the production cost is a trend that is being built up.
Recently, there’s been a growing trend in the Nepali film industry to create movies specifically aimed at international film festivals. What are your thoughts on this shift?
First of all, making any movie as per the universal international structure is good, but the storytelling should also follow the same standard. But the films being made currently do not stick to a particular genre. Every movie has a mix of everything, just like a ‘Khichadi’ with all different flavours. We want all genres like drama, action, song, romance, and comedy in one single movie. However, these kinds of movies do not grab audiences’ interest in the international market, which is an important point for directors to consider.
Another thing is that the market will not increase until they stop uploading Nepali movies on YouTube. The audiences’ psychology will never change till they watch movies on YouTube after some weeks. It is also greedy for our makers to upload movies for the greed of some 20-25 million revenue from the platform. Changing this system will not only benefit the country but also help the Nepali film market move ahead in the global market.
With the 8th Nepal International Film Festival approaching, how are the preparations for NIFF going on?
I am trying to connect the Nepali film market with the global movie market. I have been involved in movie-related workshops and seminars. International mentors were brought for the workshop. This also helped build some networks in the international market. NIFF started as a medium to connect with the global film market, which was proposed to me by people from the fraternity. No film festival would act like a signature film festival for Nepal. I believe that both commercial and alternative movies should be included in NIFF. The festival started in Pokhara in 2018 and has reached its 8th edition now. Preparations are going on well.
From the first edition to the eighth, what has changed in this journey so far?
In the first edition, we had to ask a few acquaintances and friends from the fraternity to let us showcase their movies for NIFF. Now, we can show international movies as well. Now, foreign films are eager to participate in our film festival. More than 600 films from more than 70 countries are being showcased. The International Film Society Federation also proposed us to be their member. We have been its members since 2021.
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