Gurung Film Association Nepal (GFAN), during its fifth national convention organised over the weekend, has declared that for a film to be categorised as a Gurung film, at least 70 percent of the language used in it should be in the ethnic dialect.

The association has decided that any film that is made mostly in Nepali language will not make the list. “We will not give priority to films where the dialogues are just Nepali and not in Gurung,” said chairperson Maotse Gurung.

Until recently, any film that was able to capture the essence and culture of the ethnic group was recognised as a Gurung film by the association. The registration cost for a film made in Gurung language was Rs 1,000, while for those made in Nepali just the double, Rs 2,000.

“After 22 years of Gurung film history, this decision comes as a good news, if belated,” says director Bhoj Bahadur Gurung, adding, “We are glad that our demand has finally been met.”

The history of Gurung films dates back to 1995 with director Pritam Gurung’s debut Paaten. Same year, when another film Nhori hit the theatres, the trend of making Gurung films began to pick up pace. However, it has been observed that many films that have been produced under the ‘Gurung’ banner of late have been dubbed largely in Nepali language.

GFAN reports that in the last fiscal year, only two out of eight registered Gurung films were in the Gurung tongue, the rest were all in Nepali.

According to GFAN some films dubbed in Nepali have already been registered with the association and gone on the floors. However, new ones will not be authorised unless they comply to the 70 percent rule.

Till date more than 116 Gurung films have been registered and produced.