The Nepali film industry is sexist. It’s high time it changed

Watching Chhakka Panja with her family at a multiplex in Kathmandu, Priya was irked. The way in which the women in the film were treated disgusted her. They were shown as objects, humiliated, abused and used for the male protagonist’s liking. What shocked her was everyone in the movie hall seemed to enjoy it. People, including members of her family, were enjoying the movie laughing as women were belittled and humiliated.

“It was shocking. The movie was regressive and disturbing. I was so furious that I walked out of the hall because I just couldn’t stand what was going on. Since then I’ve barely watched any Nepali movie because if a movie directed by a female director [Deepashree Niraula] was like that, I can’t imagine what other films are like,” says Priya.