'Rishim’
is more than just a beautiful word that will remain with me forever. I
am sure the magic of Rishim will lure anyone. More than four months back
when I had a chance to meet Yuvraaj Rai, a famed cinematographer from
Nepal in Mazhitar near Rangpo, he came up with an idea to premiere a Nepali movie based on the Rai community in Sikkim to which I could not hide my
excitement. He had then just had a few shows in Nepal, Hong Kong, and other
places. He proudly said “Rishim” and without any second thought, we
(members of Spark NGO) agreed that we will make an arrangement to
release the movie to our people in Sikkim.
In
my opinion, the culture of a place cannot be bounded by any geographical
or political boundaries and I have seen that in Rishim. A mere
pronunciation of the word Rishim was enough to raise my query to know
more about it. I was just told that Rishim was the name of a character and
the story of the film revolves around her. I belong to the Newar
community and still, the excitement to share a movie about the Rai community
among our people is the only thing I still have in my mind. I am sure I
feel there are many hearts around who would like to agree with me on my
excitement and I am sure many things could be learned.
Rishim
is a wonderful film made from the heart of a Rai. It is an effort of
the Rais for the Rais worldwide. I went through each scene and after
the end of the two-hour-long movie, I could not stop myself from praising for
coming up with such a product. This film set up on the backdrop of a
village somewhere in Nepal focuses on the simple living of a lead character
lovingly called “Thulay” by everyone. I was so pleased to hear the lead
character being called Thulay which made the character much closer to us
rather than those routine names like Raj, Aryan, Prem, and others that
are beyond reality as we have seen them in numerous films. Thulay is a
poor village porter who is happy with his simple life and he never runs
away from his misery. He has to look after his mother and a younger
sister and lives in a small hut.
He falls in love with Rishim, a
daughter of a village headman. Rishim’s elder sister elopes with her
boyfriend against her father’s wish on the day when the father had
managed her mangni
to a rich man’s son. The story takes a turn over and her father
promises that he would let her younger daughter get married to salvage
his family's pride. The story moves around from here and it is this simple
storyline where matters of family pride, a sacrifice made for love are
shown. I believe the story is familiar to many of us and I have seen
such on many occasions my friends share ‘this’ narration. In between this
story is a pleasant presentation of cultural activities found among the
Rais in Nepal. I would like to specifically mention the maruni dance that was shown when Rishim recalls her lost love. The dance is beautifully done and well captured. Chandi festival is well presented and the ethnic Rai custom can inspire anyone who watches the scenes.
I
have never seen such a cultural film in Sikkim before and my preserving
heart feels proud of the team that made this movie. I would be happy if
such people get encouragement and I wish we could see many more such
films in days to come. Rishim is with us and I am sure if we get an
opportunity to show this film in Sikkim we might get more things to
learn. This film should not be seen as a film from Nepal but more
positively as a film on the Rai community. But are we prepared?
where can i find this movie?can u share it with me if possible?
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