Cast: B.S. Rana, Shyam Rai, Rabi Giri, Pawan Mainali, Rajaram Poudyal
Director: Nir Shah

‘Seto Bagh’ is a historical movie based on the final days of Jung Bahadur Rana and is inspired by famous novel ‘Seto Bagh’ of Diamond Shamsher. The movie is directed by legendary actor and director Nir Shah and casts BS Rana, Shyam Rai, Rabi Giri, Pawan Mainali and Rajaram Poudyal in the lead role.

It is said that, Jung Bahadur Rana (the initiator of the 104 years long Rana rule in Nepal) saw a white tiger on one of his hunting trips in the Terai. But a white tiger has never been found in Nepali forests, and most attribute this mythical tale as being an illusion that Jung Bahadur saw. He was an old man by then and his eyes were blurred. The moment signifies the end of Jung Bahadur’s rule. ‘Seto Bagh’ attempts to illustrate the fratricide and patricide in the tussle over the throne after the death of Jung Bahadur Shah.

Since my childhood, history has been a boring subject for me. I could never get along well with history. Sadly, Nir Shah’s Seto Bagh could not make it any better. There are too many characters and too much confusions. I was suffocating to remember all those characters. That’s clearly poor presentation and screenplay. First half of the movie was too dull, monotonous a excessively confusing. In the break, I helped myself with a cup of coffee so that I can stay awake. The second half was less boring and a little more informative. Frankly, I enjoyed the advertisements in the break more than the movie. For the most part, it was more like an image slideshow than motion picture.

Most of the actors couldn’t produce best out of their characters. Few actors who performed well were Rajaram Poudel and Rabi Giri. As for others, they were less efficient and lacked any enthusiasm. The movie has good cinematography and editing is not bad either. Background score was average.

Plot
The movie is based on the last few days of Jung Bahadur Rana as Rana Prime Minister and the incidents after his death. It attempts to illustrate the fratricide and patricide in the tussle over the throne after the death of Jung Bahadur Shah.

Watch or not?
Since the movie is based on history, you may like it if you are a student of history or you already have knowledge of Rana reign. For normal person, it’s too much confusing and lacks any kind of thrills.

Jhola becomes successful in portraying the story of most evil custom of Nepal, ‘Sati Pratha’ in a pleasing way. When new age Nepali cinema is characterized by glitzy packaging and fancy camera tricks, this sorrowful tale showing the cruel and inhuman practice of Sati in Nepal has broken many hearts and filled many eyes with tears.

Although the Sati system was abolished decades ago, Jhola is still relevant to today’s Nepal where, unfortunately, cases of sexual harassment, violence against women, trafficking remain all too common. The film may not be technically sound or perfectly enacted, but it succeeds in leaving an impact and inspiring viewers to take a stance.

Based on the well known writer Krishna Dharabasi’s novel, the movie also depicts the relationship between a mother and son beautifully. Director Yadavkumar Bhattarai presents each character with beauty and all the characters must be applauded for their outstanding performance. At the start, I felt there were few amateurish acts, but soon the movie takes rhythm and as the lead actors comes into action, the movie comes to life. Garima Panta performs an outstanding act and so was Laxmi Giri and other actors. Child actor, Sujal Nepal performed a breathtaking act to make all the audiences cry at moments.

The film begins in 1958 B.S. in Kathmandu, when an old man called Ghanashyam (Sujal Nepal) leaves his bag for a night at the writer’s home. As Dharabasi starts reading, story takes him to Nepal of the 18th century. We are introduced to a young Ghanashyam who lives with his mother Kanchi (Garima Panta) and his old, sick father (Desh Bhakta Khanal). After her husband passes away, Kanchi’s life becomes a nightmare. Expected to sacrifice herself on the funeral pyre, Kanchi enters almost a daze like state and goes from being a strong-willed, loving mother to a helpless widow. As she prepares herself for the ceremony and Ghanashyam comes to terms with being orphaned, the anguish of both mother and son becomes palpable on screen. While expertly depicting the pain of the protagonists, director Yadav Kumar Bhattarai also explores the tender relationship between a mother and a son, which imbibes the movie with a soul.