''Balidaan'' (''Sacrifice'') is a 1997 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, directed by

Tulsi Ghimire Tulsi Ghimire (born 15 July 1951) is a Nepalese film director, screenwriter, film editor, cameraman, actor and lyricist known for his works in Cinema of Nepal, Nepali films. Regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Nepali cinema, he is kno ...

, and written by

Modanath Prasrit Modanath Prasrit, also Modnath Prasrit (; born 20 June 1942). Retrieved 30 March 2019 is a Nepali writer, politician and political activist. A long time member of the Nepali communist movement, he became the Minister of Education in 2054 BS ...

. It was produced by Shyam Sapkota under the banner of Cinema Nepal. Widely regarded as one of the greatest movie of all time in the history of Nepalese Cinema, The film is set in Panchayat-era Nepal, and depicts a fictionalised version of the contemporary

democracy movement Democracy promotion, also referred to as democracy building, can be domestic policy to increase the quality of already existing democracy or a strand of foreign policy adopted by governments and international organizations that seek to support t ...

. It features

Hari Bansha Acharya Hari Bansha Acharya () is a Nepalese actor, comedian, director, singer and writer. He is known for his method acting. He is one half of the comedy duo MaHa Jodi along with fellow artist Madan Krishna Shrestha. He is known for his performance as ...

in the lead role, alongside Anjali Lama,

Madan Krishna Shrestha Madan Krishna Shrestha (; ) is a Nepali actor, comedian, writer, singer, song writer, composer, director and producer. He is one of the most successful and respected comedians in the Nepali entertainment industry and was the most popular stag ...

Shanti Maskey Shanti Maskey (;1928-2011), was a Nepalese actress who acted in more than 50 films. She was one of the first actors of Nepali film industry. She was a recipient of Gorkha Dakshin Bahu, the second highest award awarded by the Kingdom of Nepal. Her ...

, Keshav Bhattarai,

Laxmi Giri Laxmi Giri (; born 19 January 1955) is a Nepalese actress whose career spans more than 35 years. She worked on stage, television and in feature films of Nepali, Newari, Maithili, Tamang and Bhojpuri languages. She appeared in more than 150 f ...

and

Neer Shah Neer Bikram Shah, also known as Nir Shah, is a Nepalese film actor, director, producer, poet, songwriter, and businessman. He is considered one of the leading actors in Nepali cinema history and an actor with multiple identities. He is related ...

. The film was a critical and commercial success during the time of its release.

Plot

One day, a rebel dies following an altercation with police officers on campus. Bikram (B.S. Rana), the leader of the revolutionary group, mourns the death of the rebel and instructs the other revolutionaries to go into hiding in different areas of Nepal to avoid capture by the police. Sangita (Anjali Lama) arrives in Sirani village, where she meets Arjun (Hari Bansha Acharya), a young student. She informs him that Bikram has been arrested. Together, they work to raise awareness of people's rights through their songs. The group is preparing for a revolution against the Panchayat system. Meanwhile, Arjun and Sangita visit another village to raise awareness of democracy. En route, they encounter a retired captain, Madan Krishna Shrestha, who is unconvinced by their plan. The captain tries to persuade the village headman to allow inter-caste marriage, but he refuses. The captain advises the revolutionary group to arrange an inter-caste marriage to change the head's mind. Arjun and Sangita decide to marry each other, but another group member secretly loves Sangita. He informs the police of their plan. Arjun is arrested and tortured by Senior Police Inspector Karna, played by Neer Shah. The court sentences him to 10 years in jail. As he leaves the courtroom, Arjun spits at the minister who had demanded the death penalty. Later, Karna is impressed by Arjun's beliefs. The officer tells Arjun that he will be released if he apologises for spitting on the minister and reveals the names of those involved in the revolutionary group, but he refuses. While being transferred to Palpa prison, Arjun breaks free from the police car. The police then break up a fight between the revolutionaries, and Arjun is killed by Karna, who ends his pain by killing him. Karna is also killed by the captain, and in his final moments, he pays his respects to Arjun by saluting him. Sangita gives birth to a child at the scene of the fight, and the film ends with a song about how Arjun gave up his life for his country.

Cast

as Arjun Nepali * Anjali Lama as Sangita * Keshav Bhattarai as Keshav * B.S. Rana as Bikram Sir *

as SP Karna Dhoj *

as Retired Captain *

as Arjun's Mother * Rajaram Poudel as Sub-inspector * Ramchandra Adhikari as Hawaldar Chandra Bahadur * Kiran K.C. as Bohora Sir * Ram Krishna Bajgain as Sagar *

as Sumita's Mother * Nilkaji Shakya as zonal magistrate

Soundtrack

Banning

The film was released in 1997. In September 2005, it was banned by the

government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...

for its portrayal of Nepal's communist movement. Sudeshna Sarkar of

Two Circles TwoCircles.net (abbreviated as TCN) is a non-profit online news delivering organization registered in the state of Massachusetts founded in 2006. It targets news about Indian Muslims, Indian politics and Muslims around the world. Kashif-ul-Huda is ...

wrote: "''Balidan'' portrayed the Communist movement of Nepal and was banned five years ago when King

Gyanendra Gyanendra Shah (born 7 July 1947) is the final monarch of Nepal, ruled from 2001 until 2008, when the monarchy was overthrown. He briefly held the throne as a child between 1950 and 1951, when his grandfather Tribhuvan and his family fled to In ...

seized absolute power with the help of the army and jailed Nepal's top politicians". The song "

Gaun Gaun Bata Utha ''Gaun Gaun Bata Utha'' () is a Nepali-language revolutionary song by music duo Raamesh and Rayan and written and composed by Shyam Tamot. The song is also known as ''Sankalpa'' (resolution/ vow) song. The song has been translated into 17 natio ...

" was adopted by the

Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (; Abbreviation, abbr. CPN (UML)) is a Communism in Nepal, communist List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal. The party emerged as one of the major parties in Nepal af ...

. It was previously released during the Panchayat era, composed by Shyam Tamot, and had been banned from state-owned

Radio Nepal Radio Nepal () is the state-owned Radio broadcasting organisation of Nepal. It was established on 2 April 1951. Radio Nepal airs programs on shortwave, medium wave (AM broadcasting, AM) and FM broadcasting, FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts ...

. ''Balidaan'' became a blockbuster, and was praised by the audiences for its revolutionary theme, and for the film's touching songs. In May 2015, the film was screened on satellite television station

Dish Home DishHome is a DTH and internet service provider in Nepal. Operated by Dish Media Network Ltd, it was formed in 2010 after a merger between two DTH providers, namely Home TV and Dish Nepal. In the year of 2011 Sandmartin International Holding ...

Critical reception

The staff of ''NepaliSansar'' cited the film as one of the "best Nepali movies ever", alongside '' Chino'', ''

Darpan Chhaya Darpan Chhaya () is a 2001 Nepalese romantic drama film, written and directed by Tulsi Ghimire. The film is produced by Shrawan Ghimire under the banner of Siddhanta Films. The film features an ensemble cast including Dilip Rayamajhi, Uttam Pra ...

'', ''

Kusume Rumal ''Kusume Rumal'' (; ) is a 1985 Nepali romantic film written and directed by Tulsi Ghimire. It was produced by Sumitra Paudel under the banner of Sayapatri Films. The film featured Bhuwan K.C, Tripti Nadakar, Udit Narayan and Neer Shah in lead ...

'', '' Lahure'', and ''Desh''. Kamal Subedi of ''Republica'' said: "''Balidan'' is one of the successful movies of all time". The staff of BossNepal wrote: "It is a good movie to catch up if you are willing to get a glimpse of what surpassed among the people of Nepal during the democratic movement". The staff of ''La.Lit'' wrote: "''Balidan'', ..was a tearjerker perfectly poised between the fall of Panchayat and the start of the Maoist revolution".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=tt6566022 1990s historical drama films 1997 films 1997 drama films Films banned in Nepal Nepalese historical films Films directed by Tulsi Ghimire