Film on Indian novel is Nepal's pick for Oscars

A Nepali film based on a novel by a writer of Indian origin is Nepal's entry to the 2006 Academy Awards in the foreign film category. Basain, based on a famous novel of the same name by Darjeeling-born Lila Bahadur Chhetri, has been entered for the Oscars, according to Krishna Malla, a member of the Nepal Film Development Board.

Ranju Lamichhane, an actress originally from Sikkim and currently settled in Nepal, plays the leading role in the film directed by Subhash Gajurel and co-produced by Tirtha Basnet and Sudhir Poudel.

Basain, meaning migration, is also included in the course book for Intermediate level students under Tribhuvan University's curriculum. The story highlights social problems associated with migration, a relevant theme in the present situation in  Nepal.

This is Nepal's third try at the Oscars; neither of the earlier entries managed to win. French photographer Eric Valli's Caravan, filmed in the northern Himalayas of Nepal, got the first look-in in 1999, followed by Nepali director Gyanendra Deuja's Muna Madan in 2003.