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 Comedy

Gaja Baja

CAST: Anupam Sharma, Sushil Sitaula, Barsha Siwakoti, Gopal Aryal

DIRECTION: Ganesh Dev Panday

*** 3 stars

A pure stoner comedy was long overdue in Nepali cinema. So when writer/director Ganesh Dev Panday announced he was making a film called ‘Gaja Baja’ about Nepali potheads, I was instantly curious. But it took the makers two years to release the film because of their long battle with Nepal’s Film Development Board. Apparently board members felt that the use of gaja (hashish) in the film title promoted drug use and asked the makers to change the title. The case was finally sorted and the film was granted an adult certificate and released all over the country with its original title.

I’m happy to say that Gaja Baja is a genuine genre piece. It sets its protagonists into an action- com­edy rollercoaster, in the vein of the popular ‘Harold and Kumar’ series and Seth Rogen-starrer ‘Pineapple Express’. But the film’s “one day in the life of two potheads” narrative is more similar to 1995’s Friday, a cult stoner comedy starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker.

Gaja Baja wholeheartedly adheres to the genre tropes. But as it is the first of its kind movie rooted in our own Kathmandu, it feels fresh and different from other regular Nepali films.

As mentioned earlier, the movie tells the story of a day in the life of two pothead slacker friends: Gorey (Sushil Sitaula) and Dadhey (Anupam Sharma). We never know their real names or their detailed backstory, only that Gorey has a dominating father, who feels his son hasn’t done anything in life to deserve milk tea in the morning. Dadhey’s parents too have given up on him. Yet the two are least both­ered about what their parents make of them or about getting jobs. They spend each day with one ambition: getting high.

But this particular day isn’t look­ing good; they have to scour the city’s every nook and cranny to get some weed. This day-long weed hunt brings them in contact with many colorful people and puts them in sticky situations.

Anupam Sharma as the dim-wit­ted Dhadey scores high on the laugh­ter meter. He embodies Dhadhey’s slacker sensibilities so well that he makes the character lovable. He shares a brilliant chemistry with Sitaula’s Gorey.

They feel real and convincing as they fully embrace the lingo and mannerism of potheads. However, their friendship’s spirit called for a smoother ending than the mes­sage-laden ending we get.

Ganesh Dev Panday’s previous offering ‘Manjari’ (2013) had met with an instant backlash when it was discovered that the film was a shot-by-shot remake of a South Indian movie.

He pokes fun at himself in Gaja Baja’s opening credits when he quotes Quentin Tarantino: “I steal from every single movie ever made.” While Manjari dimin­ished him as a plagiarist, his latest film will definitely help him erase that image. He has showed much can be achieved with a limited bud­get, a small setting (most of the film is shot around Mangal Bazar, Shankhamul and New Baneshwor) and a small crew.

Gaja Baja builds its comedy on irony and frustration. The two characters’ trash talking and childish activities are also watchable. All in all, it’s a simple, light-hearted comedy without any depth to its characters. It will, nonetheless, hold you attention for the full 90 minutes

The name says it all. CALM occupies a quiet area inside the Tangalwood premises, near Gahanapokhari Tangal.

With plenty of parking space and both indoors and outdoor seating options, the restaurant offers a variety of multi-cuisine dishes and an assortment of drinks.

From breakfast with a vari­ety of coffee choices, to din­ner, CALM covers it all for you. It is also a popular venue for events like birthday par­ties, corporate parties, talk programs, concerts and art exhibitions.

To add to the charm of CALM, there is a night club called Club 25 Hours almost right next to it where you can party and jive till the wee hours of night.  

THE MENU

Specials:

Chicken Sizzler

Lamb Chops

Mango Chicken

Opening hours

8 am to 11 pm

For reservations

01-4443904

The world of advice is a crowded space. Everyone has an opinion about everything and every­body seems to know what’s best for you. And a quick look down the self-help aisle at your local bookstore proves that for every problem you have many people out there have ‘just the right’ solution. But if there is one person you would enjoy lis­tening to, then it’s probably Mark Manson. He doesn’t just tell you how to live a good life by identifying what’s important and what’s not, but is so brutally honest about his own problems that being able to relate takes away half your worries.Now, while not giving a fuck may seem simple on the surface, it’s a whole new bag of burritos under the hood. I don’t even know what that sen­tence means, but I don’t give a fuck. A bag of burritos sounds awesome, so let’s just go with it.

This is just an example of the kind of lines Manson’s not-so-subtle book on letting go of everything that’s not important in your life is filled with. And that’s what makes reading the book such a delightful experience. But despite the profanity, The Sub­tle Art of Not Giving a F*ck is actu­ally incredibly inspiring and deeply philosophical. Add to that the fact that Manson has a wicked sense of humor and you have a self-help book that feels like a heart-to-heart conversation with a friend where you are forced to reexamine what you really care about in life.

Manson argues that life is essen­tially an endless series of problems and the solution to one problem is merely the creation of another. He says life sucks for those who con­stantly try to get away from prob­lems. So, he suggests, instead of trying to find out how you can get rid of your problems, you just have to find problems that excite you, and those for which you are willing to make some sacrifices.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck could very well be the reality check you needed about confront­ing your problems, fears, and expec­tations, and learning when not to give a f*ck about them. Because, if Manson is to be believed, caring less about things is the only way to lead a good life. APEX BUREAU

Naaka

Crime, Drama

CAST: Bipin Karki, Thinley Lhamo, Prakash Gandharva, Robin Tamang

DIRECTION: Amit Shrestha

 Among the new crop of Nepali actors, Bipin Karki is some­one who has made a giant leap in just few years. Starting with minor character roles, he has now established himself as a leading man in Nepali movies. He started off with a blink-and-miss role in ‘Loot’ (2012); the following year we saw him sink his teeth in a meatier role in the colossally disappointing ‘Chhadke’. But his breakout performance came in ‘Pashupati Prasad’ (2016), where he portrayed Bhasmey, a low-life gang leader operating inside the premises of Pashupatinath temple. If we sift through the characters he has played in his ten films so far, apart from Jatra (2016), he’s mostly played goofy delinquents.

In his latest film ‘Naaka’, his char­acter is—no surprises for guessing—a smuggler named Goldie, donning a mohawk. Goldie ticks off every box in a stock Bipin Karki character: a small-time crook with a colorful name, a flamboyant sense of style and a speech impediment. Goldie is a menacing anti-hero in this black-crime comedy featuring Nepali smugglers and Tibetan refugees.

Goldie and his lackey Hanuman (Prakash Gandharva) agree to help two Tibetan refugees (Thin­ley Lhamo and Shiva Mukhiya) cross the Sino-Nepal border into Nepali. Goldie is making the delivery on behalf of Lata Bob (Robin Tamang) and his henchman Ganesh (Ram Bhajan Kamat), who have promised Goldie five lakh rupees in return.

But the seemingly easy task turns into a migraine for Goldie, as he has to “karate chop” his way through revenge seekers, bent cops and double-crossers.

Director Amit Shrestha has plucked the news pages to ground the story in a contemporary context. He takes up the issue of Tibetan refugee influx and the theft of dzi beads (highly prized Tibetan stones) that have led to the murder of many Tibetan refugees. Shrestha with the help of his cinematographer Chintan Raj Bhandari resourcefully captures the world of the protagonists. The film’s grungy and grimy look must not have come easy.

There are number of odd-ball characters here and only a few are good-natured. The bonding scenes between Hanuman and the refu­gee girl Sonam make up the film’s most poignant moments. In an early scene, Hanuman makes a puffed face to make Sonam understand he is named after the Hindu mon­key god, not realizing that Sonam only speaks Tibetan and may not be familiar with any Hindu god.

Naaka largely stands on the broad shoulders of Bipin Karki, who gives the film everything in his acting arsenal. Karki’s blend of humor and menace is so compelling that movie-goers often end up rooting for a morally corrupt character. This is a clear sign that today’s audience is ready for bold, complex and nuanced roles in Nepali films.

But Naaka is also marred by prob­lems. It relies on a plot that is wafer thin and highly inconsistent. The first half is slow while the second is filled with hackneyed plot twists, as if the makers were in a rush to get to the climax. Many viewers may also feel that overreliance on slapstick humor undercuts the film’s other­wise serious plot.

It’s not a perfect film and I must say its characters deserved a better plot. But Naaka is a welcome change amidst the cornucopia of terrible mainstream Nepali films that have come out in recent times.

*** Three stars