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Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi
Purna Bahadur Ko Sarangi (Nepali: पूर्णबहादुर को सारंगी) is a 2024 Nepalese family drama film directed by Saroj Poudel, from a screenplay written by Mahesh Dawadi. Produced by Binod Poudel and Patrick Subedi under the banners of Seven Seas Cinema and Baasuri Films, the film features Bijay Baral, Mukun Bhusal, Anjana Baraili and Prakash Saput. It highlights the Gandharva community’s struggles, focusing on cultural preservation, love, separation, and the challenges they face in accessing education. It portrays their resilience amidst social and economic hardships.[4] The film was released on October 31, 2024, in cinemas on the occasion of Lakshmi Puja, the third day of the major Hindu festival Tihar in Nepal. The film was released with a positive response from critics and met with applause from audiences for the performance of the cast, particularly Bijay Baral, the story, direction and the emotional weight.[5] With an unprecedented performance at the box office in the history of Nepali cinema, it emerged as an all time blockbuster, becoming the highest- grossing film of all time in Nepal in just two weeks.[6] OverviewHere are some other notable earnings for the film:
PlotIn a village in rural Nepal, Kamal Gandharva retrieves a sarangi from a villager, which he describes as ancestral property. When his daughter asks about her grandfather, Kamal starts reminiscing memories about his father. Purna Bahadur Gandharva is a poor gandharva who makes a living by playing sarangi in neighbouring villages. After Batuli, who has a crush on Purna Bahadur, deliberately loses a bet, she marries him much to the anger of her family. While initially very happy, Batuli's happiness starts fading away after she comes to terms with Purna Bahadur's poverty and the lack of respect for Gandharans in the society. The couple give birth to a child who Purna Bahadur names Kanchha. Per tradition, Kanchha joins his father in roaming around villages and he is taught to play the sarangi. This enrages Batuli who wants her son to be an educated man and not end up as his father. Batuli secretly plans on taking her son to the city for a better life with Harke, a childhood friend of hers. However, Harke spreads the news that Batuli has cheated on Purna Bahadur with him, which Batuli discovers while she is secretly leaving the village. As a thunderstorm approaches, a scared Kanchha leaves his mother and returns to Purna Bahadur, who is mourning the death of his father. Influenced heavily by Batuli's words and his own misery, Purna Bahadur decides to enroll his son, now legally named Kamal Gandharva, to school. In a school play, Kamal plays as a doctor and is surprised to see others respecting him. He asks Purna Bahadur about this, who responds that the people were merely respecting the white coat. That night, Kamal gets caught stealing a white coat and is punished in front of his father. Purna Bahadur explains to Kamal that respect should be earned, and Kamal vows to be a doctor. Ten years later, Kamal passes the SEE exams and is sent to the city by his father. Two years later, Kamal passes the entrance exam for studying MBBS. However, knowing his father could not afford to pay the tuition fees, he lies about failing the exams and returns to the village. Purna Bahadur eventually finds out through a newspaper, and Kamal is once again sent to the city. Purna Bahadur takes drastic measures to earn money, selling his property. After he loses his voice following a brawl, he even sells his sarangi. Meanwhile, Kamal, unaware of his father losing voice, starts worrying why his father has not called for months. Kamal eventually completes the degree and becomes a doctor. Planning to treat his father, he returns home. However, Purna Bahadur has already died not knowing his son had become a doctor, as he was illiterate and could not read the letters sent by his son. Discovering this, a devastated Kamal runs away crying. In present, Kamal's daughter asks about her grandmother, to which he replies that he will tell the story when time favours. Cast
SoundtrackThe music is composed by Prashant Siwakoti while the background score is provided by Rohit Shakya. The first song from the film titled "Kadhekuri" was released on 15 September, followed by "Dainey Hataima" on 28 September, "Maijharo" on 3 October, "Raiya Chandiko" on 23 October and "Notaile" on 7 November. All music is composed by Prashant Siwakoti
ReceptionFilm received massive praise from the critics while audiences poured their love to the film by flocking to the theaters in huge numbers.[7] Rishika Dhakal of The Kathmandu Post reviewed the film and said "Purna Bahadurko Sarangi’ is a missed opportunity for a more nuanced approach to storytelling, with its heavy focus on melodrama and exaggeration of emotions, which ultimately detracts from the powerful themes of caste and marginalization."[8] A critic from NepalPress said "Despite its shortcomings, Sarangi is a powerful movie, portraying the intimate relationship between father and son, and will resonate with anyone who understands the struggles of both."[9] A critic from dhurbashrestha.com.np said "The film Sarangi (Sarangi) is truly a battle of ideas, in which a Dalit parent like Purna Bahadur (Purne) struggles against poverty, social injustice, and humiliation in search of his self-respect." The film powerfully portrays the oppression of the Dalit community, their cultural identity, and their struggle for self-respect. Sarangi is not just a story of Dalits, but a story of the deep social reality of Nepali society, a story of change, and a search for self-respect. "[10] Box OfficeDomesticDespite starting slow at the box office due to several reasons, the film did an unprecedented business at the box office grossing over रु 8.25 crore in Nepal in its first week thanks to excellent word of mouth from the audience.[11] The film continued its momentum to earn रु 17.98 crore in 10 days, smashing several records including highest gross on a single day for a Nepali film with रु 3.89 crore on Saturday, and also becoming one of the highest grossing films in Nepal in the process.[12] After two weeks, the film minted रु 27.35 crore at the domestic box office, breaking all major existing records to emerge as the industry hit in Nepal.[6] Its earnings reached रु 39.74 crore in three weeks,[13] and रु 45.74 crore after four weeks.[14] At the end of six weeks, the film amassed रु 49.25 crore at the domestic box office nearing historic milestone.[2] InternationalThe film scored massive रु 23.35 crore (US$1,730,000) from seven international markets after three weeks of its release, becoming the highest grossing Nepali film in international box office ever. Major contribution came from North America at US$922,000 and Australia at A$884,000. The film grossed US$184,950 in Middle East, NZ$42,940 in New Zealand, €6300 in Belgium, €9600 in Denmark and €3200 in Norway.[15] WorldwideWith रु 49.25 crore at the domestic box office and रु 23.35 crore from International box office, the total gross of the film stands at रू72.60 crore (US$5.3 million) after six weeks, being the first and only Nepali film ever to cross रु 50 crore landmark at worldwide box office.[2] See alsoReferences
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