Nepalmountainnews Report | 6 May 2008
Nepali music videos play a vital role in a channel's programming and popularity. The music video industry started small but has gone through a dramatic digital revolution over the last three years. WAVE talks to some of the best in the music video scene.
"The first Nepali music video was the first video film song," says Mr. Bhushan Dahal, an industry pioneer. "With the advent of Nepal television, Nepali music videos came into existence. The first music videos were simple and created with little effort. The director would shoot singers and musicians performing in a studio," he adds.
Sahaj Man Shrestha, another pioneer amongst music video directors, introduced the use of models in music videos. With Roshan Pratap Rana's innovation, music videos took a different turn; documentary bits were included, and camera frames moved from the television studios to the colossal sky. Deepak Kharel, Kiran Pradhan, Dwarika Lal Shrestha, Taradevi and other famous singers began making music videos.
"I began my music video direction with Sur Sudha." quotes Mr. Dahal. With Nima Rumba's Miss Catwalk, he exposed a new approach. "Nima requested me to direct his music video. We started after a few days. I hardly knew what I was doing. We shot the entire video in twenty minutes." With music videos of popular artists like Cobweb, Bidhan Shrestha and Sanjeeb Pradhan making regular rounds on TV, the music video industry was well on its way.
Fast forward to the new millennium, Simosh Sunuwar and Nexus changed the face of Nepali music videos; their use of graphics with 1974 A.D's Baacha Ra Baachna Deu is a milestone in the industry, paving the way for the digital age in music videos here. Till date, Simosh Sunuwar continues to receive praise for his videos, like Astha's Harpal, Nabin Bhttarai's Chaina Joon, and Kamal Man Singh's Sakdina Ma. Alok Nembang is another big name in the music video world today. His video for Anil Singh's Dooba Deu has not just won praises but awards too.
Music videos are now being produced regularly. Whether it is Bhushan Dahal's direction or Nepathya's Sa Karnali, Alok Nembang's Ke Ma Timro Sathi Banna Sakchu for Deepesh K. Bhattarai, or Anil Tandukar's Komal Tyo Timro Badan Aa, each music video is distinctive. "A music video director must know and feel the essence of the music. It is a challenging task to translate a song's soul into pictures," Mr. Dahal said.
"The evolution of [music] videos is a remarkable development in Nepali music. You can compare our videos with international ones. I am sure that the Nepali music videos will prosper in the future," remarks Nima Rumba. Mr. Dahal believes that the Nepali music video scenario is still growing, and on a global scale. The growth of private sector media has made music videos commercially viable.
But everything has its pros and cons. The popularity of music videos is making emerging music artists spend huge amounts of money to produce high-quality music videos; this makes it difficult for talented, but financially challenged artists to reach listeners.
"Music videos have responsibilities. They should inspire people, and yes, nepalipan is essential," Simosh Sunuwar asserts.
Wave Magazine
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