A dentist and implantologist by profession, Kapil Rijal always wanted to make a film from the beginning, but his dream has recently come true, with his first project as a director. harry ki pyaari released last week.
There are a couple of reasons that inspired Dr. Rijal to become a film director. First of all, the biggest hobby of his is watching movies of different genres for the first time all over the world. Secondly, his father, Senior Gynecologist Bhola Rijal, is an established name in the Nepali film industry with his contribution to blockbusters like Saathi, Ek Number Ko Pakhey, Nepali Babu and many others.
“Previously, I worked on short films and music videos, but the ultimate goal of all these things was to direct a movie,” says Kapil Rijal with a smile, “Finally, this has come true now.”
His journey as a director
Rijal would have already made his debut in the film industry in 2020 through an English film if everything had gone as planned. “She was in the UK at the time and was talking to the producers of the project. He was planning to introduce Samragyee RL Shah from Nepal,” he says, “but the pandemic wrecked everything.”
Rijal still lives in the UK, but he got a long leave to come to Nepal to revive and achieve his long-standing dream.
Harry Ki Pyari features big names in the Nepalese film industry such as jitu nepal, Samragyee R.L. Shah, Bijay Baral and Laxmi Giri. However, the debutant director says that he did not face any difficulties in coping with famous actors. They were very easy on the set, says Kapil Rijal.
He appreciates his entire team for making filming and post-production go smoothly. “I feel blessed and lucky to have such a lovely team.”
However, having lived in the UK for the past 30 years, Kapil Rijal was not familiar with the rural lifestyle or the climate and weather conditions of Nepal. He says that he had to work hard to get used to them.
However, the debut film has energized Rijal for the next few days. Now, he aspires to contribute to the Nepalese film industry through his newly established production company, BR Production. He says that Nepal is a land of creativity, the people here are brilliant, but there are fewer opportunities.
“I want to give opportunities to those creative minds. I want to collaborate with them by producing their works or offering other possible help”, she says.
Helping the industry improve
Meanwhile, Kapil Rijal says that he not only wants to contribute to the Nepali film industry but also wants to give back to the motherland by helping its overall development. For that, he says that he wants to make social and cultural films that can inspire social transformation in the future.
He says there are thousands of local stories in Nepal that don’t have a place in the movies. Working on such content will definitely be good for both the industry and society. projects like kabadi and Jhinge Dau are some good examples, he says.
Furthermore, it also urges aspiring directors to focus on authentic stories so that people can easily relate to them.
Another thing that makes Kapil Rijal proud to direct Harry Ki Pyari is that he has explored an unknown side of Jitu Nepal, who has been in the industry for the past 27 years and is well known for his comedic roles. In this film, Nepal has stepped out of her comfort zone and played a serious character role.
Nepal says that Harry Ki Pyari has increased his confidence to play various roles in upcoming projects.
“I learned various aspects of acting while taking on a serious character role,” says Nepal. “In all these years, I never had the opportunity to explore this version of me.”
Rijal considers himself lucky enough to become the first person to discover this side of Jitu Nepal. He wonders why other people in the industry haven’t done it for so long.
