Bollywood and Bhutanese actor Sangay Tsheltrim will play the lead in actor Pradeep Khadka’s multilingual film “Airee.” The team, which included Pradeep, met with Sange in Mumbai on the eve of the English New Year and offered him the film. During that meeting, Sange expressed enthusiasm for the project.
A close source says that arrangements are underway to have Tsheltrim sign a formal contract with the company during his visit; he is prepared for that. On Saturday night, Tsheltrim arrived in Kathmandu at the invitation of the production team to continue discussions. This was his first visit to Nepal, where he was welcomed into Pradeep’s restaurant, “Paradise Garden Restaurant,” at Garidhara, and the LOD Club in Thamel.
The production team brought Sangay on board for the film for two reasons: first, as he is a citizen of Bhutan, making it easier to release the film there; second, because he is connected to Bhutan’s esteemed over-the-top (OTT) platform, “Shangrila,” which opens up more avenues for film distribution. It is also well known that Sange speaks Nepali fluently.
Sangay, who worked on the Bhutanese film ‘Singye,’ made his Bollywood debut in ‘Radhe,’ starring Salman Khan. Last year, he starred alongside Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Jawan.’ A retired soldier, he was the captain of Bhutan’s royal bodyguard and also a ‘gym trainer,’ paying special attention to his fitness.
Under the direction of Multimet director Jeevan Thapa, “Airee” is being produced in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Nepali. The producers of the film are Rajan Kunwar, Prashant Kumar Gupta, and Subas Kale; Prashant and Suwas are from India. Most of the film’s shooting is reportedly scheduled to take place in Nepal. The production team plans to release the movie by the end of 2024.
