Rekha Thapa () (born 21 August 1982) is a Nepalese renowned actress, politician, filmmaker, and social activist, celebrated for her significant contributions to the Nepali film industry and her unwavering advocacy for women's empowerment. Over her two-decade-long career, she has appeared in over 200 films, many of which spotlight strong female protagonists and address pressing social issues. She won the CG Digital Film Awards for Best Actress, and in 2011 she also won the NEFTA Film Awards for Best Actress. Among her accolades are two National Film Awards for Best Actress: in 2006 for Himmat and in 2010 for Bato Muni Ko Phool, recognizing her impactful performances and contribution to Nepali cinema. Thapa is also well-known for speaking out on social and political issues, particularly

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

. She is recognized for establishing herself in the Nepali cinema business at a time when every film was solely focused on male leads; as a result, she is frequently referred to as a "female hero" rather than a "heroine" of a film.

Biography

Rekha Thapa was born in Salakpur in Morang district of Eastern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. After graduating from school, she moved to

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

for higher studies. As she had a strong desire to be an actress, she continued to participate in various modeling glances & glamorous programs. Later she took part in the Miss Nepal Pageant in 1999 and ended up in Top 10. Thapa adheres to

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Personal life

In February 2022, Thapa did a court marriage with Balram Shahi. This was her second marriage; she was married to film producer Chhabiraj Ojha earlier, they divorced in 2012; since then she was living with her mother. Recently, she has given birth to her baby girl.

In the media

Thapa's entry in a top Political Party UCPN (Maoist) amidst a public program at party headquarters office of UCPN (Maoist) in Koteshwor, Kathmandu has been criticized by some of her fans. In November 2009, while protesting for

Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) (), abbreviated CPN (Maoist Centre) or CPN (MC), is the third largest political party in Nepal and a member party of Samajbadi Morcha. It was founded in 1994 after breaking away from the Communi ...

on supremacy in the government, Rekha Thapa was seen dancing with the Prachanda who encircled

Durbar Square Durbar Square or royal Squares in English, is the generic name that refers to the plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces in Nepal. The name comes from Persian دربار ( Darbar). The durbar squares are full of temples, idols, open cou ...

, the government headquarter. In December 2009, Rekha Thapa was seen kissing the shortest man in the world,

Khagendra Thapa Magar Khagendra Thapa Magar () (4 October 1992 – 17 January 2020) was a Nepali once known as the shortest man in the world, measuring . Magar, who was a primordial dwarf, won the title of shortest man from Edward Niño Hernández. He lost the title ...

. Rekha Thapa was on the cover page of ''Wave Magazine'' in June 2013. Rekha Thapa ended her relationship with her husband and film producer Chhabi Raj Ojha in 2012.

In politics

In 2013, Thapa joined the

. However, a year later, she announced that she was no longer associated with that political party. Thapa joined

Rastriya Prajatantra Party The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (; ; , ()) is a monarchist, constitutional monarchist and Hindu nationalist List of political parties in Nepal, political party in Nepal. The party was formed by Panchayat (Nepal), Panchayat era Prime Minister o ...

(RPP) on 12 December 2016. In February 2017, Thapa was elected as a central member of RPP. A number of other popular faces, such as singer Komal Oli, and lawmakers Kunti Shahi and Pratibha Rana were also elected.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thapa, Rekha Living people People from Morang District Rastriya Prajatantra Party politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Nepalese film actresses Actresses in Nepali cinema Nepalese women film directors Nepalese film producers Nepalese women film producers Nepalese film directors Nepalese Hindus 21st-century Nepalese people 21st-century Nepalese actresses 20th-century Nepalese actresses Nepalese actor-politicians