''Badhshala'' (English: Slaughter House) is a 2013 Nepali

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film written and directed by Manoj Pandit and produced by Mohaan Dotel under the banner of Smashing Apple. It features

Saugat Malla Saugat Malla ( Nepali: सौगात मल्ल) is a Nepalese film actor and producer. He is one of the best contemporary actor of Nepal. He began acting professionally in 2008 and became known for his leading role as Haku Kale in '' Loot ...

Dayahang Rai Dayahang Rai (; born 13 April 1980) is a Nepalese actor, director, and playwright. He is one of the most popular actor of Nepal. He has starred in over 50 films and is one of the leading contemporary actors of Nepal. He has received various acc ...

, Khagendra Lamichhane, Anup Baral, and

Arpan Thapa Arpan Thapa () (born 15 November 1978) is a Nepalese actor, director, and scriptwriter. He studied acting in Mumbai in 2002 before returning to Nepal to start his career in the Nepali film industry. He sold CDs at Mahabouddha, to promote the bu ...

. ''Badhshala'' concerns the torture done by the Nepali Army to the

Maoists Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China and later the People's Re ...

during the

Nepalese Civil War The Nepalese Civil War was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the then Kingdom of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. It saw countrywide fighting between the Kingdom rulers and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), with the latter making ...

. It was briefly banned in Nepal but was cleared for screening after filmmakers deleted the "problematic torture scenes".

Synopsis

The film is based on the tortures carried out by the Nepali Army on

during the

(1996–2006). It shows that innocents and Maoists detainees were forced to sign a paper saying that they were Maoists, and they were later killed by the army in a jungle. The army also asks them to reveal information about their leader; if they refuse, they are taken to a jungle where they will see detainees being brutally murdered, implying that they will be killed if they do not reveal the information.

Cast

as Maoist Leader *

as Captain Rai * Khagendra Lamichhane as Krishna * Anup Baral as Major Sab *

as Captain Thapa

Production

''Badhshala'' was reportedly made on a budget of four million

Nepalese rupees The Nepalese rupee (; currency sign, sign: रु; ISO 4217, code: NPR) is the official currency and legal tender of Nepal. It is also sometimes abbreviated as N₨ or Re./Rs. informally. The rupee is subdivided into 100 paisa, although coins of ...

(about US$46,512 in 2013).

Banning

Initially, the

Nepali Army The Nepali Army (), also referred to as the Gorkhali Army (; see '' Gorkhas''), formally known as "Royal Nepal Army" is the land service branch of the Nepali Armed Forces. After the Gorkha Kingdom was founded in 1559, its army was establis ...

objected to the film being screened because the actors are wearing military uniforms without permission. Later, the army said that the film could "derail the peace process". In March 2013, ''

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

'' reported that ''Badhshala'' had been banned. Director Manoj Pandit said that he would go to the

Supreme Court of Nepal The Supreme Court of Nepal () is the highest court in Nepal. It is designated as the court of record by the Constitution of Nepal. It has appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the seven High Courts (including eleven Benches of the High Cour ...

, regarding this as an attack on freedom of speech. According to the director, the film is fictional but based on historical facts. Pandit told the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...

'' that he had given a DVD of the film to Prime Minister

Baburam Bhattarai Baburam Bhattarai (, ; born 18 June 1954), also known by his nom de guerre Laaldhwoj, is a Nepalese politician, architect and former Prime Minister of Nepal, Prime Minister who presently serves as leader of the Nepal Socialist Party. Bhattarai ...

to urge him to release the film. The film was cleared for screening in cinemas after the filmmakers deleted the "problematic torture scenes". ''Badhshala'' was screened on 19 April 2013. The film was later selected for 16th

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

international film festival in 2015.

Critical reception

Trishna Rana writing for ''

Nepali Times ''Nepali Times'' (stylized as NEPALI Times) is an English weekly newspaper that provides reporting and commentary on Nepali politics, business, culture, travel and society in 16 pages. The weekly is aimed at the expatriate, diplomatic and busine ...

'' wrote that ''Badhshala'' is a "flawed historical drama" since it shows only one side of the civil war.

References

External links

* 2013 films Films about police misconduct Films banned in Nepal Nepalese drama films Nepalese Civil War films Nepalese historical films {{Nepal-film-stub