Nepali Filmmaker and TV Personality Bhusan Dahal
Credited with setting the standard for Nepali music videos over the years and an influential filmmaker, Bhusan Dahal discovered his career path quite by chance when a friend invited him to work at Nepal Television (NTV), leading him to discover that he had a talent for filmmaking and it was something he enjoyed doing. Among the Nepali singers he has directed videos for are Ramkrishna Dhakal, Rajesh Payal Rai, Om Bikram Bista, Nima Rumba, Yogeswor Amatya, Nhyoo Bajracharya and Nepali rock band 1974 AD.
Dahal’s début film Kagbeni was released in January 2008 in both Nepal and the United States. It is based on the horror short story The Monkey’s Paw, written in 1902 by celebrated English author W.W. Jacobs. The name of the film was taken from Kagbeni in the Kali Gandaki valley of Nepal. Stars of the show include Nepali singer Nima Rumba, Saugat Malla, Hanif Mohammed, Pooja Gurung and Deeya Maskey. The plot follows the lives of a group of friends who have a monkey’s paw which can make wishes come true, detailing the problems caused by making wishes for selfish reasons. The film was shot on location in Kagbeni, Marpha, Shyang and Jomsom in the spectacular Mustang district of Nepal. The film was generally well received by the public, particularly in urban areas such as Pokhara, Kathmandu and Narayangarh, and received good reviewed from most critics. It was also well supported in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and the United States where there are sizable Nepalese communities.
While having enjoyed the experience of filmmaking and the success it brought, in a published interview, Bhusan Dahal noted that he will always favor television as an audio-visual entertainment medium – and he has certainly had much success in television. Between 1988 and 1990 Dahal anchored the show Sunday Pop, presenting international pop music on NTV, while at the same time starting a political program, Disha Nirdesh on the television station with Bijay Kumar as anchor. Bhusan Dahal is currently the chief executive producer for Kantipur Television and has been hosting Fireside – a talk show based on current affairs – since 2003.
