Among Nepali actors, Khagendra Lamichhane’s real-life persona is perhaps the most closest to his on screen ones. In his theatre roles, or in the movies he has been featured in of late, it seems as though the actor/director is returning to his roots. Lamichhane was born to a middle-class family in the western district of Syangja. From a ‘mischievous child who loved to make stories on his own’ to widespread fame as an actor, little seems to have changed in Lamichhane’s persona. 

Dant ko Dob, a play written and directed by Lamichhane, staged last year, told the coming-of-age story of two adolescents in the western district. “Dant ko Dob, although not exactly autobiographical in its essence, borrows elements from my childhood as a village boy. These are the stories I want to explore,” Lamichhane has said.

By far, the characters he has portrayed on screen essay the fortunes, or misfortunes, of an unsuspecting middle-class youth caught in a fix, be it the young man in hunt for money (in Pashupati Prasad) or the love-struck young man who wants to prove himself in Talak Jung vs Tulkey (where the lead character wants to be called Talak Jung, his real name, instead of Tulkey, which he is mockingly called). 

The actor now has a new film, Dhanapati, slated for release on July 7. Here too, the producers have said the film tells the story of a lower-class youth with a family, making a living from his job at a restaurant in the Capital. 

Guessing from the first look of the film, Dhanapati features a Lamichhane who, although a different character, hails from the similar working-class roots like his previous roles. The poster reveals a Lamichhane, wearing a dhaka topi, on a cycle with his family. 

Speaking to the Post, about the film written by himself and directed by Dipendra K Khanal, Lamichhane said that the film is based on how politics, however detached one may be from it, exerts its undue effects on the life of the working class. 

Asked why he seems inclined in portraying such roles of people on the margins, Lamichhane said, “Although there are subtle differences between characters in each of my film, they are all about the working class. And indeed, about 80 percent of us Nepalis belong to this class. It seems to me, the fates of this class and their personal stories need to be explored via cinema.” 

The recent shift in the narratives of Nepali film, for Lamichhane, strikes as a ‘need of the hour.’ “Every society is dynamic,” Lamichhane went on, “And changes in a society should be portrayed through cinema. That’s what I along with other filmmakers, actors—who want to veer away from the traditional lines of storytelling—are trying to embrace.” 

And that is exactly what the new Nepali audience willingly embrace as well, as showcased by the successes of films such as Pashupati Prasad, Talak Jung vs Tulkey, White Sun, and Jatra. These are the films, in part, that make the Nepali cinema’s new wave. 

Now it seems Dhanapati will take that narrative further. 

When asked whether he fears being typecasted given his great success at ‘working class hero’ roles, he reiterated, “Although they might look similar on the surface, the roles I have portrayed are distinctly different in their psyche. If someone comes up to me and asks me to portray a role that may be negative but is layered and justifiable according to the story, I will be happy to explore.”