Top 10 Best Nepali Movies of All Time
Top 10 Nepali Movies of All Time: – One of the few industries that have progressed in Nepal in the past decade is the film industry. Even though accused of being extremely influenced by Bollywood, we have to agree that there is a little if not a lot of ‘Nepali pan’ in our Nepali movies. Some Nepali movies are box office super hits despite their cliché storyline whereas some Nepali movies are simple yet provocative despite their box office failure.
And not to forget the movies which have given us great songs, let’s say they have given us the ‘Gangnam Style’ equivalent hit songs. We have tried our best to look at all the factors- cinematography, storyline, casting, influence, location, and box office worthwhile making this list. We hope you enjoy the article. Comment if we have missed out on any of your favorite Nepali movies.
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Kusume Rumal
A 1985 blockbuster romantic movie directed by Tulsi Ghimire is undoubtedly the best evergreen movie that the Nepali cinema has given us. Even though the storyline is a bit cliché depicting the difficulties in the love relationship between a poor and a rich person, this college love story is illustrated so well that we can’t help loving the movie. Starred by the actor turned singer Udit Narayan Jha as Amar, our own Nepali Babu Bhuwan K.C. as Arjun, and Tripti Nadakar as Suniti, the cast is itself talented enough to pull us to the cinema hall.
This movie was the first ever movie that was screened for 25 consecutive weeks in cinema halls. Along with the pure love story, the movie has also given us some of the best love songs – Kusume Rumal and Suna Bhana Na.
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Chino
Chino is another Nepali blockbuster movie directed by Tulsi Ghimire. The main leads of the movie comprised of the best of the best actors – Shiv Shrestha in and as Birkhe, Bhuwan K.C. in and as Hemant, Sunil Thapa in and as Rate Kaila, Sharmila Malla in and as Laxmi (double role), Kristi Mainali in and as Laxmi (double role). This movie acts as a complete platter of all genres – Romance, Action, and Comedy.
Like Kusume Rumal, this movie has also given us one of the hit songs in Nepal – Mohani Lagla Hai sung by the pioneers of the Nepali Music Industry: Narayan Gopal and Asha Bhosle. Often this movie is considered to be the Nepali equivalent of Bollywood’s iconic Sholay.
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Darpan Chhaya
Darpan Chhaya is yet another Nepali blockbuster movie directed by Tulsi Ghimire. Released in 2001, this movie remained the highest-grossing movie (with a net worth of Nrs.15 crore as of 2016) in Nepali cinema until a decade after when the record was broken by Kohinoor (2014). A story of two best friends that find themselves trapped in a love triangle, this college romance has been relatable to the young generations over the years.
The cast of the movie included mesmerizing stars- Dilip Rayamajhi as Raj, Niruta Singh as Smiriti, and Uttam Pradhan as Abhi. However, more than anything else, the heart-touching plot stole all the credits. (Tip101 – Don’t forget to keep a box of tissue beside you while watching this movie. Seems like no Tulsi Ghimire movie is complete without a hit song; this movie gave us our ever-favorite Lahana le jury ki.
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Jhola
Jhola, unlike the aforementioned romantic movies, is one of a kind. This movie takes us back to the 1920s when Sati culture (a culture that compels the wife to burn herself in the same fire in which her husband’s body is being burned) was widely practiced. Although the practice of the culture has decreased exponentially over the recent years, it is still prevalent in many parts of Nepal. That is why this movie was a great social influence.
With a talented writer Krishna Dharabasi, equally talented director Yadav Kumar Bhattarai, mesmerizingly talented star Garima Panta, and just as talented cinematographer Deepak Bajracharya, there was no way this movie could potentially go wrong, and no wonder it didn’t. The lead actress was awarded The Best Actress title at SAARC Film Festival in 2014.
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Soon gave: Dance of the Orchids
Nepal’s first and only lesbian romance movie had to make it to this list. This movie has Nepal’s well-known actors – Saugat Malla in Milan, Deeya Maskey in Diya, and Nisha Adhikari in Kiran. This 2012 movie directed and written by Subama Thapa is a pioneer of LGBT movies in Nepal. Although not nominated for the Oscars, this movie was a chosen entry for the Oscars that year.
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Pashupati Prasad
With a 9.5/10 IMDb rating and a great review in Nepal’s leading national daily Himalayan Times, this movie, Pashupati Prasad, is one of Nepal’s most critically acclaimed movies. This movie gathered a total of 20 nominations, out of which the movie won 12. The awards ranged from best actor, best actor in a negative role, best story, best screenplay, and best director to the prestigious of all best movie of 2016. This 135 minutes long movie is slow yet captivating as it takes us to the life of Pashupati Prasad, a man finding and fighting ways to pay off his debts in a society that is itself a hurdle for a poor man’s effort to a good income. This movie was also selected along with The Black Hen for the Oscars.
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November Rain
The movie November Rain stars the heartthrobs of the Nepali Film Industry: Aaryan Sigdel in and as Aayush and Namrata Shrestha in and as Sheetal. This is one of those movies in which the viewers went crazy, the good kind of crazy though. The movie collected a whopping 20 lakhs on its opening day followed by 45 lakhs on the second day and leading to a gross income of about 2 crores. 3 years down the road this movie remains among the top Nepali movies. This movie follows the story of Sheetal and Aayush who fall in love with the unknown of their history. The truth shatters all of them and the rain reminds the character of the painful truth every time. Watch the movie to know what the dark truth was.
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Loot
One of the few crime action genre movies that make it up to the top, this movie not only made it up to the topmost but also made its own identity- the kind which is very far from fading away. The movie is directed by Nischal Basnet and has a big cast consisting of Saugat Malla in and as Haku Kale, Dayahang Rai in and as Google, Karma Shakya in and as Nare, Reecha Sharma, Praveen Khatiwada, Prateek Raj Neupane in and as Khatri, Sushma Karki, Sushil Raj Pandey in and as Pandey, Srijana Subba, and Uttam Neupane. The movie had received a lot of publicity way before the movie got released because of its hit song ‘Udhre ko Cholli Mero’ sung by the very famous Indira Joshi and Nischal Basnet. This movie portrays a robbery by a group of four friends who desperately need money for their reasons.
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Kalo Pothi – The Black Hen
Kalo pothi Nepali movie
The movie ‘The Black Hen’ is commonly known by its Nepali translation ‘Kalo Pothi’. The movie depicts the story of two friends, Prakash and Kiran who are in search of their missing hen. The movie is critical as the story takes place during the 1996-2006 Nepalese Civil War in a rural district of Nepal, Mugu. The two friends born in families of two different castes have to fight the tyranny brought forth during the ceasefire as they continue to find their missing hen.
This movie was selected for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars and won the best film award at Venice International Film Festival. The movie also got a 7.6/10 IMDb rating which is, in fact, a great score. The movie also received great reviews from the critics of The Himalayan Times and Nepali Times. The viewers, however, had mixed feelings about this movie, and thus, this movie was not a commercial success.
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Nai Nabhannu La Series
The Nai Nabhannu La series has up to 4 sequels but the audience has enjoyed each version of the movie. This movie series was directed and written by Bikash Raj Acharya and produced by Dinesh Kumar Pokharel. The cast includes Jiwan Luitel, Suman Singh Richa Singh Thakuri, Priyanka Karki, Suraj Singh Thakuri, Sitaram Kattel, Anubhav Regmi, Saroj Khanal, Mithila Sharma, Mukesh Acharya, Hemanta Budhathoki.
This romance series attracts its viewers with its simple yet heart-touching storyline. In the later series, however, the child artist Anubhav Regmi acts as a magnet between the movie and its audience. This movie has provided us with a lot of great songs- Yi Aakhan Ma, Nai Nabhannu La, and Marne Kasailai Rahar Hudaina – all sung by one of Nepal’s most gifted singers Prem Pariyar.
We hope you find a weekend to binge-watch all these great Nepali movies list the “Top 10 Nepali Movies of All Time”. Don’t overflow with emotions and great music though.
Writer: Prajita Shrestha
