Pareni Maya Jalaima (2004)

Name: Pareni Maya Jalaima
Released: 2004

Directed by: Prithvi Rana, Ram Sharan Ghimire
Country: Nepal
Elsewhere: IMDb

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How it feels

A Nepali couple's love story unfolds across Hong Kong and Nepal. The film follows their relationship as it is tested by distance and circumstance.

melancholicbittersweetvisually lushslow-burnromanticexoticunderstatedtragiccontemplative

What happens

Pareni Maya Jalaima, or Pare Ni Maya Jalaima (Nepali alternative transliteration) or Undone by Love (English-language title), is a 2004 movie filmed 80% in Hong Kong with the remaining footage shot in Nepal. It was nominated for the categories of best story, best screenplay, and best cinematography at the 2005 National Film Festival, winning the best screenplay award for writer-director Prithvi Rana Magar. It is the most expensive film ever made in the history of Nepalese cinema with a production cost of about 18 million rupees. It was shot on 35-millimeter film—a rarity for Nepalese movies—by Hong Kong cinematographer Gavin Liew. Because of a long and exhausting legal battle between the investors, the film's release was delayed for three years. By the time it hit theaters, the charm of the highly anticipated movie had vanished. Although people who watched the movie liked and appreciated it, it was not successful at the box office because of poor marketing and excessive use of the English language, which Nepalese audiences are not accustomed to. The movie only made around 30% of its investment. It grossed around 12 lakhs in Nepal and 10 lakhs internationally against its budget of 1 crore 80 lakhs. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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