Deepashree Niraula’s debut feature, Chhakka Panja, defied the odds on a wet and rainy weekend to become one of the highest grossing Nepali movies of the year. Having joined the illustrious Rs 1 crore club on Saturday, the movie has ended up grossing north of Rs 25,000,000 over the weekend. The movie hit the screens on Sept 9.

“The response that we have received for the movie has been quite overwhelming,” Niraula said in a conversation with the Post, “Around the country, the people are saying that the ‘rains couldn’t dampen Chhakka Panja’. We knew that the movie would do well, but the phenomenal response we have received has the cast and crew positively over the moon.”

The film features a 60-person ensemble cast with popular names like Deepak Raj Giri, Shivahari Poudel, Jeetu Nepal, Kedar Ghimire, Buddhi Tamang, and Priyanka Karki in lead roles. The movie which recants a tale of migrant Nepali workers has struck a chord with audiences in both multiplexes in urban centres and single screen halls and remained sold-out all weekend. The movie was released in over 80 movie theatres around the country.

“We have received a fantastic response in Pokhara and Kathmandu,” Niraula said, “and other urban centres like Narayangadh, Hetauda, Birtamod, Damak and Dharan have seen full occupancies throughout the weekend as well.”

Niraula, a popular actor herself, said that the great response the movie has received has left her speechless.

“This has been a great experience for me. While an actor, you just concentrate on your role, but as a director you have to concentrate on the roles of the entire cast. So, naturally, I ended up putting in a lot of effort into this debut venture and to see the audiences love the movie is a surreal experience. It is both humbling and encouraging at the same time.”

Having conquered the Nepali box office, the movie is set for a US and UK release on Sept 17, followed by a launch in Sydney on Sept 18.

The movie was made with a total budget of Rs 9,000,000.