‘New-age love’ in Nepal

At a time when the Nepali film industry is nowhere near its peak, hoping to give the slumping Kollywood a bit of a boost is Sudarshan Thapa’s third directorial, Mero Love Story. The romantic picture releasing under the Eyecore Films banner features Aaryan Sigdel, Reecha Sharma and Vinay Shrestha in the lead roles. The trio had previously appeared together in Simosh Sunwar’s First Love and the young cast comes together again to retell a romantic tale of love and betrayal.

“Though the plot might sound rather unoriginal, it is not. A different approach has been taken to make the film and that makes it fresh and new,” says lead actress Reecha Sharma. “The creativity in the script and the distinctive story line is what made me want to be a part of this venture. Even though I wasn’t the first choice, I’m glad the role eventually came to me”, she adds. Mero Love Story narrates the story of a girl Nisha (Reecha Sharma) who meets Aavas (Aaryan Sigdel), a full-fledged Casanova who, in every term, is the opposite of her. Though they depart with no hopes of ever meeting again, the duo are brought together once again when Nisha is getting married to Vinay, (Vinay Shrestha), Aavas’s best friend. As the story unfolds, fate keeps bringing Aavas and Nisha together at different turns and the film explores how the characters deal with the twists of life without, but ultimately confronting their true feelings.

The actors describe the film as very feminist as Sharma’s character is the protagonist of the plot and it is indeed her “love story”. Shrestha describes his “dual” character as a somber but nice guy who, over the course of the film, turns into an unfaithful man. “The film carries different emotions but it is very fun. The scenarios presented in it are realistic, and these sorts of situations could have befallen anyone,” says Shrestha.

The theatricals and the trailer of the film have received good reviews so far and the feedback has been mostly positive. Pramod Kharel has provided the music for the four songs featured in the film—these range from tragic melodies to party themes and romantic tunes. The script by Kumar Bhattrai is his first solo project, and the cast describes his writing as very Nepali despite the marked presence of a “western touch”. They add that director Sudarshan Thapa’s atypical vision has brought together a special film for everyone to enjoy this Dashain.

Mero Love Story took a good long two years to complete, but the cast hopes that the tortoise-paced making will eventually win lots of hearts. The success of First Love and other such films has given hope that these kinds of productions appeal to audiences and can work. So commercial success or not, the film aims to leave behind a note of being a remarkable feat in Kollywood.

Mero Love Story will be released on Oct 3 outside the valley and hit Kathmandu theatres on Oct 7.

By: Grishma Rimal, Kantipur

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