There was an objection to the hoarding board of the film by the police to which the director responded with an enormous question mark. Finally, the film touted as a sexual thriller received an Adult certificate.[break]
After the film finally hit the theatres, one is left questioning: why put up so much for a film like this? The film would have been better if it was a rip-off of a Hollywood hit, like alleged. But sadly, it is not. It is something dreadful.
Chapali Height, for its basic plot, had the potential to be a first of its kind cult film in Nepali cinema. It had non-mainstream content, very few characters and a few locations.
However, the makers seem so overwhelmed with their own idea that they end up making a mess.
The story begins with Raj (Raj Ghimire) waking up exhausted after a nightmare to receive a call from his friend who requests him to shelter him and his girlfriend in his house at Chapali Height.
Bineeta Baral (Bini) is the girlfriend who indulges in chatpate and likes to sway to any music that plays. She talks a bit too much and plays weird sexual games to such an extent that she manages to miff off her boyfriend.
Now, her boyfriend Amir (Amir Gautam) for most part seems fine with Bini’s ways. In fact, he actually encourages her as he dances along, intoxicating himself with alcohol and cigarettes. He likes playing tennis and carries multiple sim cards in his pockets which have nothing to do with the film, much like many other scenes.
Now be warned, for the film is a compilation of such tasteless scenes. A good 20 minutes of the film are wasted on the highway while the couple, Bini and Amir, elope and drive towards Kathmandu.
The highway for them, not for the audiences, is extremely adventurous for they encounter some rowdy helmetless bikers in a short spell of swearing beep words.
The bikers meet with an accident, and the couple celebrates with a Lakhe who appears out of nowhere and starts dancing in the middle of the road.
The film, and thank God for that, starts officially when the couple reach Chapali Height at sundown where Bini displays her extreme open mindedness, standing in front of both the guys asking if she looks sexy dressed only in a shirt.
Then the eloped couple indulges in a perverted fest in presence of Raj which is awkward for him as well as the audiences in the cinema hall who laugh out loud!
The chuckles don’t end for the audience mocks those scenes by which the film intends to shock, thrill or at times scare.
The director of the film, Dipendra K Khanal, is at fault for not only the repetition of location with an extremely slow pace of the film but also for the nil development in the characters.
Amazingly, however, the filmmakers manage to insert sex psychology even if only for a small part. Sadly the score in enticing the audience is a zero.
As you move further you get the feel that, the script of Chapali Height might just be a rip-off of some bad erotic story that somehow stuck to into the writer’s head. The treatment is that of a short film with lethargically extended scenes. Dirgha Khadka’s editing of the film is terrible.
Scenes showing time lapses using the “dissolve” feature in an editing software does not get the film moving. Nor does cutting from a wide angle to another wide angle.
Niraj Kandel, the cinematographer, tries creating psychological uneasiness through close shots but fails miserably. Also, coloring the film with tilt of primary colors does not make it look at all visually grabbing.
As for the acting bits, none of the three gather any attention except for the weird expression they put on every once in a while, and deliberate and uninteresting exposure of bare backed Bineeta Baral in the shower.
It’s a debut for all three actors to mainstream cinema and a supposed launch pad of their career. So, at least a little effort in developing their characters to make it a bit more believable would have been appreciable.
Also, the actors need to put in immense efforts on their pronunciations if they are to continue speaking English throughout their acting career.
Badmouthing and bleeped words seem to be the new quintessential of Nepali cinema, and it is fine if they suit the situation. But if used just for the sake of it, similar to Chapali Height, they can turn it into something horrendously ugly.
All in all, the film’s attempt in introducing sexuality to mainstream cinema needs to be appreciated while the music by Arjun Kumar is okay.
The title track by Sabin Rai could easily be declared the best part of the movie, but apart from that, every other aspect of the movie seems desperate and doltish.
(Screening at QFX Cinemas.)
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