''Basudev'' is a 1984
Nepali language
Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...
film, adapted from
Dhruba Chandra Gautam
Dhruba Chandra Gautam ( ne, ध्रुवचन्द्र गौतम) is a Nepalese novel writer. He has authored over 60 stories and novels most of which addresses contemporary social issues. He is known as ''Akhyan Purush''(towering per ...
's ''
Kattel Sarko Chotpatak'' by
Neer Shah
Neer Bikram Shah, also known as Nir Shah, is a senior People of Nepal, Nepalese film actor, director, producer, poet, songwriter, and businessman. He is considered one of the leading actors in Cinema of Nepal, Nepali cinema history and an actor ...
in his directorial debut.
The film starred
Harihar Sharma as the eponymous character, with
Shakuntala Sharma,
Subhadra Adhikari,
Krishna Malla
Krishna Malla (Nepali: कृष्ण मल्ल) is a Nepalese film actor, film producer and film director. He is known for Gaajal (2001), Gothalo (1996) and Basudev (1984). His first theater act was ''Pahad Chichyairahecha''.
Biography
...
,
Sharmila Malla
Sharmila Malla (Shah) ( ne, शर्मिला मल्ल)
is a Nepali actress, model and producer. She made her acting debut in the Kanchhi
''Kanchhi'' ( ne, कान्छी) is a 1984 Nepali film directed by B.S. Thapa and produc ...
and director Shah himself in supporting roles, while
Madan Krishna Shrestha
Madan Krishna Shrestha ( ne, मदन कृष्ण श्रेष्ठ; ) is a Nepali actor, comedian, writer, singer, song writer, director and producer. He is one of the most successful and respected comedians in the Nepali entertainm ...
and
Hari Bansha Acharya
Hari Bansha Acharya ( ne, हरिवंश आचार्य) is a Nepalese actor, comedian, director, singer and writer. He is known for his method acting. He is one half of the comedy duo MaHa Jodi along with fellow comedian Madan Krishna S ...
were credited as guest actors.
While the film was a critical and commercial success, it was criticised by some for its departure from the source material; Dhruba Chandra Gautam expressed disappointment at the film for being markedly different from the script he had written for the film. Neer Shah has conceded that various artistic compromises were made for commercial reasons which he came to regret later on.[ He is said to be actively planning a remake.][
The film was produced by industrialist ]Binod Chaudhary
Binod Chaudhary ( ne, विनोद चौधरी; born 14 April 1955) is a Nepalese billionaire businessman, politician and philanthropist. He is the chairman and president of the Chaudhary Group (CG).
In February 2013, he was recognised ...
. The film's musical score was composed by veteran musician Ranjit Gazmer
Ranjit Gazmer is an Indian film music director and a musician, who is noted for his work in Nepali-language films. He had a long association with music director R.D. Burman as a musician.
Early life
Ranjit Gazmer is from a gold merchant fa ...
. It was the debut film of comedian and actor Rajaram Paudel. The song ''Yatri'' from the film, adapted from the eponymous poem by Nepali poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( ne, लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakabi ( ne, माहाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was kno ...
, was highly acclaimed upon its release and remains popular.
Plot
Basudev Kattel (Harihar Sharma) is a professor in Kathmandu struggling to make ends meet. When his friend Kumar (Neer Shah) asks that he help him on his illegal business scheme in return for lending him money, their relationship grows strained. Basudev and Kumar continue to insult each other for their respective values, when among mutual friends, arguing the merits of financial well-being against a principled life.[ The relationship gets worse when Kumar finds out that his only daughter Sangita (Sharmila Shah) is dating Prem (Krishna Malla), Basudev's son. Kumar initially attempts to convince Basudev to join his illegal business activities in order to bring the latter's economic status on par with his own as a precondition for marrying his daughter into Basudev's family. When both Basudev and Prem decline, Kumar gets Basudev fired from his job.
Basudev's youngest son is diagnosed with a kidney ailment that requires he be treated in India. Prem and Sangita manage the funds for the treatment with contribution from friends and family and leave for Delhi with the sick boy. Unable to come to terms with his daughter leaving home for Prem, a drunk Kumar goes to Basudev's house where he tries to rape Basudev's daughter and when intervened by Basudev's elderly father and Sabitri, physically assaults both. Basudev, learning what had happened, vows to end it once and for all, and breaks into Kumar's house, where he attacks Kumar from behind and kills him strangling him with his tie. Basudev walks into the night and dies of an apparent heart attack] at his favourite stop in the city.
Cast
* Harihar Sharma as the eponymous Professor Basudev Kattel,[ an honest man who struggles to make ends meet raising his family in Kathmandu
* Shakuntala Sharma as Sabitri, Basudev's supportive wife, a homemaker, and mother of three
*]Neer Shah
Neer Bikram Shah, also known as Nir Shah, is a senior People of Nepal, Nepalese film actor, director, producer, poet, songwriter, and businessman. He is considered one of the leading actors in Cinema of Nepal, Nepali cinema history and an actor ...
as Kumar,[ a corrupt businessman, Basudev's friend who later turns the main antagonist
* Subhadra Adhikari as Anjana, Kumar's wife
*]Krishna Malla
Krishna Malla (Nepali: कृष्ण मल्ल) is a Nepalese film actor, film producer and film director. He is known for Gaajal (2001), Gothalo (1996) and Basudev (1984). His first theater act was ''Pahad Chichyairahecha''.
Biography
...
as Prem, Basudev's eldest son, a taxi driver
* Sharmila Shah as Sangita, Kumar and Anjana's daughter
*Chandra Mala Sharma
*Hari Bansha Acharya
Hari Bansha Acharya ( ne, हरिवंश आचार्य) is a Nepalese actor, comedian, director, singer and writer. He is known for his method acting. He is one half of the comedy duo MaHa Jodi along with fellow comedian Madan Krishna S ...
*Madan Krishna Shrestha
Madan Krishna Shrestha ( ne, मदन कृष्ण श्रेष्ठ; ) is a Nepali actor, comedian, writer, singer, song writer, director and producer. He is one of the most successful and respected comedians in the Nepali entertainm ...
*Ram Chandra Adhikari
Ram Chandra Adhikari ( ne, रामचन्द्र अधिकारी) is a comedian actor of Nepal popularly known by pseudonym name ''Kaji Ba( ne, काजी बा) or Gopte Kaji ( ne, गोपते काजी)''. He has acted in ...
as supporting actor
Production
''Basudev'' was produced under the banner of Manakamana Films. According to director Shah, ''Basudev'' was the first film to be made from a domestically produced script. The film scripts were, until then, written by Bollywood writers.[ Neer Shah, having a strong belief that the way to uplift Nepali cinema was to build stories and scripts from Nepali writers themselves, decided to make such a film himself. He chose an already popular Nepali book ''Kattel Sarko Chotpatak'' to adapt from. The script for the film was written by the book's author Dhruba Chandra Gautam himself, in collaboration with Neer Shah, while the comedic bits were contributed to by ]Hari Bansha Acharya
Hari Bansha Acharya ( ne, हरिवंश आचार्य) is a Nepalese actor, comedian, director, singer and writer. He is known for his method acting. He is one half of the comedy duo MaHa Jodi along with fellow comedian Madan Krishna S ...
. The film was produced with investment from industrialist Binod Chaudhary, credited as the producer of the film, who, according to Shah, agreed to invest after the latter had given him a copy of the book to read.
The film began its principal photography in 1982. According to director Shah, the Information Department had delivered damaged raw stocks which compromised the quality of filming. As the first Nepali film to be shot in 16 mm, which needed to be converted to 35 mm, the damaged raw stock severely hampered the video. The popular song ''Yatri'' adapted from the eponymous poem by Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Laxmi Prasad Devkota ( ne, लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, and novelist. Honored with the title of Mahakabi ( ne, माहाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was kno ...
was recorded in Mumbai, sung by Rabin Sharma.
The production budget of the film was Rs 1.4 Million. Rs 350 thousand was invested by Neer Shah, another 350 thousand was borrowed from Shah's friends and the remaining 700 thousand was invested by Binod Chaudhary.
Release
According to director Shah, the film had trouble getting approved by the Censor Board
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
which was very strict during the Panchayat regime. The film was released to theatres in 1984. Neer Shah has said that Binod Chaudhary was unenthusiastic about the final cut of the film, further speculating that the latter might have not finished the book before agreeing to produce the film. Dhruba Chandra Gautam was initially reported to have been disappointed with the liberties director Shah had taken with his script, but according to later accounts, he was more appreciative, acknowledging the different nature of a film medium to a written word, and concluding that it was a good work for the medium and the time.
Reception and legacy
Upon release ''Basudev'' emerged to be one of the successful, and the most recognized film of Neer Shah. The film is also considered "one of the best examples of realistic Nepali cinema and marked a turning point towards film that raised awareness of social issues".[ Bibash Basti, for ''Annapurna Post Today'' in 2017, wrote that the film had stirred Nepali society and widened the "filmy-canvass".] Released in the 1980s, the golden years of Nepali cinema, it is considered one of the best films of that decade.
The characters Basudev and Sabitri played by Harihar Sharma and Shakuntala Sharma respectively, have been well-received, and the actors who are married in real life were still seen as an exemplary couple almost 30-years after the film's release.
Planned remake
Director Neer Shah
Neer Bikram Shah, also known as Nir Shah, is a senior People of Nepal, Nepalese film actor, director, producer, poet, songwriter, and businessman. He is considered one of the leading actors in Cinema of Nepal, Nepali cinema history and an actor ...
has acknowledged that the film was not as good as the book. He has said that he was pressured to add song and dance, romantic scenes between Krishna Malla and Sharmila Shah as well as action sequences involving Krishna Malla to make it more marketable to a general audience, contrary to his own artistic choices as a director. He has said that he is working on a remake that will be truer to his own vision.[
]
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, id=6565710
1984 films
Nepali-language films
1984 directorial debut films
Nepalese drama films
Films based on Nepalese novels