Renuka Dhakal

The journey of a boy, born into a simple farming family, from attempting suicide to becoming a successful film director, is now a source of inspiration for many people.
Dayaram Dahal, a successful film director of the Nepali film industry, and today he is leading the Nepal Film Development Board (FDB), which is the government organisation that looks after the Nepali film industry.

Reel Vs. Real Life
The real life of Director Dahal is no less than the character of any of film and in fact he is an example of a miraculous success after confronting many failures in life.
Recalling his childhood, he said, "I was born in Chunataal in Kavre district. When I was born, my village did not have a road, electricity facility and many people were uneducated,"
In the place, where I studied up to primary level, it took an hour to reach to the school, said Dahal. At that time, the awareness that children should be educated was low in the village.
However, his mother took the initiative to educate him and his siblings. He now remembers how his mother dared to educate her children at a time when money was earned only through selling grains or milk in the most of the rural areas.
Dahal is a versatile personality, a successful director, script writer, a passionate actor, singer and a technician who started his film journey as a general assistant, who had to serve tea to had to escort artistes with umbrellas.
In his early film journey, he became a spot boy, technician, make-up man and then a camera man. He did everything necessary for the film.
The boy who had to go to another village just to listen to the radio, Dahal didn't even know how he became fascinated to music and songs.
A programme aired on Radio Nepal's "Chautari" attracted him to music.
To sing for this programme, he used to walk from Banepa to Bhaktapur then, took a bus from Bhaktapur, managed to reach Singhadarbar and used to record his songs. He had passed his voice test at Radio Nepal.
From an early age, he wrote and directed plays and sang songs at various festivals and in schools.
After passing his SLC, he came to Kathmandu and started looking for job to survive, he sold T-shirts and also did some manual work to earn his livelihood.
Meanwhile, he got a chance to meet director Tulsi Ghimire and after seeing his interest in art, Ghimire allowed him to work as an all-round assistant from the film “Lahure”.
From 1988, he worked as a spot boy for the film “Koseli”. He had to do work like serving tea, buying vegetables and so on and he also played a short role in this film too.
Seeing that he would not be able to do anything, while working as everyone's assistant, he told Ghimire that he needs another job which could have set out his career. Then, he got an opportunity of fourth assistant director for the film “Chino” in 1989.
At that time, few films were made in Nepal, so the actors used to go to Bombay. Dahal went to Bombay and there he also worked as a technician in many regional films in Bombay.
At the end of 1993, he got an offer to direct the film 'Daijo' but due the producer’s internal dispute, the shooting was stopped midway for the film.
Attempt To Suicide
After stopping the shoot of his first directional debut film, many people told him that he was not matured enough to be a director.
After failing to complete this film, he went into depression and people started treating him like he was insane and completely ignored his existence.
Then, he could not bear the ignorance and failure and tried to commit suicide. One night he had cooked rice mixing it with poison but suddenly a group of friends from the film industry knocked on his door at around 10 pm and offered him his second film "Bhariya" for direction.
Bhariya, according to him, started new chapter in his life.
The movie became a super hit and after this success he did not need to look back.
He has then successively directed successful movies like Dhukdhuki, Daiba, Ma Timi Bina Marihalchhu, Jetho Kanchho , Dashgaja and so on. He has so far directed more than 40 movies and his latest two movies are on the floor.
New Role
Currently, he has been appointed chairman of Nepal Film Development Board. He said after the appointment, he would be working to improve the condition of Nepali film industry.
He said that life is a circle of success and failure, just like day and night, happiness and sorrow which continues throughout the life.
"We should not give up the hope of achieving success and should be working hard to taste the fruit of success," said Dahal.

(Dhakal is associated with TRN)