Movie Review: ‘Bagmati’ fails to live up to audience’s expectation

Kathmandu, Jan 13: No doubt superstar Rajesh Hamal has many years of tremendous experiences in acting, which is taken as outstanding. However, he sometimes fails to pick up some good pieces with a solid plotline, making his films somewhat under-performers at the box office, business-wise. This is Hamal’s case with the recently released ‘Bagmati’.

Rajesh (Rajesh Hamal) makes a negative entrance as multiple-murderer. Also as lovable and caring father, Rajesh is destined to rescue his daughter from the clutches of some gangsters and is determined to do so at any cost. He is also after his wife to murder her. In the course of his mission, he fights with some goons and guns down one of them, only to find himself to be arrested by police.

The plotline of the movie is centered on Rabi (Rabikar Prasad Ghimire), a widower and a lovable and caring father doing everything possible to make his around 9-year-old daughter Kanchan (Kanchan Thakuri) happy. He supports for his daughter and himself as a tipper driver, which he has bought on loan.

The story gets a twist when Rabi’s daughter is admitted to a hospital after collapsing and is asked by the doctor involving in his daughter’s treatment to manage Rs 1.6 million to get his daughter undergo heart transplant.

Rabi, ready to do everything even to the extent of murdering to save his daughter, is taken by one of his friends to a casino to manage the needed money. But, beyond his expectation, he is duped and loses all the money he collected for his daughter’s treatment. He also comes across a gangster leader there and is made to manage bodies of some people the leader kills in the casino by offering him money needed for his daughter’s treatment.

On his way to manage the bodies on his own tipper, Rabi meets Rajesh, who happens to be hit by Rabi’s vehicle and takes a lift. Rajesh, being taken to a prison for a murder, is fleeing after murdering the police on the way.

On their way to Taudaha-Dakshinkali on the tipper, Rajesh knows all about Rabi and deposits needed money for his daughter’s treatment without Rabi’s knowledge.
After some months, Rabi gets a letter from Rajesh stating that Rajesh needs his help in rescuing his kidnapped daughter in return for helping him for his daughter’s treatment.

The movie directed by Sunny Kerala ends with numerous questions remaining unanswered. First of all, no background information about Rajesh is given. Who is Rajesh and why he wants to kill his wife while he adores his daughter so much. His dialogue ‘Nepal pahileko Nepal rahena tara Rajesh tyahi Rajesh ho (Nepal is not the old Nepal it used to be, but Rajesh is the same) indicates something hidden story about him.

He also wants to reveal his background information, by telling Rabi repeatedly that he needs to know about him first of all, but the script does not allow him to do so.

On the other hand, no background information is given about another superstar Shiva Shrestha, who makes his entrance with a fight with some gangsters, but he never returns in the play again except in a brief fight with Rajesh toward the end. Here, the fact that why Shiva comes back towards the end just to fight with Rajesh is left unanswered. What is the relationship between Rajesh and Shiva and the motive behind the fight?

Likewise, why Keki Adhikari, a guitarist, who loves music, is attacked by the gangster leader in the casino? No much revelation about her is given as well.

Similarly, not much background information about Rabi is given in the movie. And why some snapshots about Bagmati clean-up campaign are added towards the end, featuring former Chief Secretary Lila Mani Poudyal leading the campaign as if only to add a brick on the wall. And why Rabi with his daughter, as an onlooker, is appeared in the snapshots of the campaign? Does the filmmaker want to make people aware about making Bagmati tidy through Rabi? If so, Rabi does nothing to make people aware about the campaign beforehand and he and his daughter have no specific connection with Bagmati as well.

On top of what is a ridiculous plotline, as the story reaches its climax, it ends with a note, to be continued, without revealing much background information about its characters like Rajesh, Shiva and Keki. It means the story forces the audiences to watch its sequel in Bagmati-2. Every story may have its sequel, but it is not justifiable to end any story incomplete, giving a sense of boredom to the audience, who cannot wait for a movie’s sequel to understand everything about the first film, while going to the theatre, sparing their time and money.

However, it is unjustifiable not to mention stylish visuals and soundtrack in the ‘big-budgeted movie’ ever made in Nepal. It has a South Indian movie flavour in terms of action, while it is filmed using South Indian technologies. If you love fights like in the south Indian movies, you will have some sorts of south Indian action movie-like fights in the movie. Or else if you are a lover of a strong plot line and want a story to entertain audiences fully, you will not enjoy the movie. Rather you should save your time and money for another Nepali movie with a strong plotline.

Casts: Rajesh Hamal, Shiva Shrestha, Ravikar Prasad Ghimire, Keki Adhikari, Mukunda Shrestha, Dhruv Koirala, Kanchan Thakuri
Banner: Tree Entertainment
Producer: Dinesh Darshandhari and Vijay Satyal
Genre: Suspense and Thriller
Director and Script: Sunny Kerala
RSS