Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

Singtam, September 17 : Sarita Pradhan, an aspiring actress and model from Burung, near Singtam is back home after doing a small cameo at the most awaited Aamir Khan's bollywood flick Lal Singh Chadda. Pradhan, is the 1st runner up of Face of Zylish 2020 organised by Zylish Academy held at Malbazaar, West Bengal. Born to Govind Pradhan and Mamta Pradhan, she has two nepali music videos to her credit and a nepali short film soon to be released. Sarita Pradhan is a make-up artist and the owner of Magical Touch, a professional beauty parlour at Singtam. Speaking on the occasion, Sarita thanked Samir Chandra Sir, casting director for the lifetime opportunity. She further said, she was at Kalimpong for the shoot of an episode of the Amazon Prime web-series The Girl when there was an announcement of the photo audition for the hindi movie in Mumbai. From the thousands that took part in the photo auditions, eight people were selected from Gorubathan, Jaigaon, Kalimpong and Sikkim. She fee...

I had heard from old folks that a portion of the film 'Jewel Thief' was shot at Singtam on the road stretch opposite Thakurbari Mandir, where Dev Anand was running at the road chased by Police, but sadly, that shot never made it to the silver screen. Two major Hindi films were shot in Sikkim - 'Romeo in Sikkim' and 'Road to Sikkim' but I have no knowledge whether the film had any scene at Singtam.   Then, in the mid-90s came the Hindi film 'Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat', the debut film of Rani Mukherjee, where I was part of a crowd watching the shooting done near the old STNM Hospital flyover. One of the songs Palkon Mein Sapne Chamke Ahista beautifully sang by our own Nepali singer Poornima (Sushma Shrestha) is shot in different locales of Sikkim including Changu Lake and of course Singtam. The video of the song is given below, and just watching her jumping from one stone to another, she had a sudden slip at the riverside near Golitar.    

SINGTAM, JANUARY 24: The shooting of nepali short film ‘Sambandha’ gets completed at locales of Singtam and Mazhitar. The film is produced and directed by Praja Pradhan under his banner Shaphal Films. The short film revolves around an environmental theme. Vinod Sereng, veteran film director from Nepal, cine star Uttam Pradhan, Indian Idol fame Prashant Tamang and famed nepali singer Damber Nepali were present at the Mahurat shoot. The story is by AB Gurung, script by Praja Pradhan, concept by Shital Pradhan and camera work was done by Galchen Bhutia. The actors in main roles are Kishore Dungmali, Aadarsh Pradhan, AB Gurung, Zigmei D Bhutia, Takendra Gurung, Premi Lepcha and two child artists Kasish Sharma and Yojana Chettri

GANGTOK, NOVEMBER 7: Praja Pradhan directed ‘Euta Kura’, a short film on “Swachh Bharat Swachh Sikkim” and ‘A New Tourism Destination in Sikkim’ a documentary based on bungee jumping is being screened at Manan Kendra, Gangtok on December 17. The show is organised by Sikkim Newar Guthi Youth Affairs. Pradhan is a popular film personality from Sikkim who had so far been associated with more than 30 Nepali films, documentaries, short films, music videos and others. “Euta Kura- Sikkim Pledge for Swach Bharat Mission” is shot at different parts of Sikkim with performances from local artists as well as popular personalities of Sikkim including Chunilal, Ghimirey, Kishor Dungmali, Gopal Baraily (MLA) and Timoty Rai to name few. The short film pledges an effort from Sikkim to make our small state ‘Clean and Green’ which is also a vision of our Hon’ble Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. Swachh Sikkim Campaign was initiated in Sikkim in 2003, 13 years before the Swachh Bharat Mission ...

Nepali filmmaking in Sikkim is growing, and to add to its growing list comes “ Anmol Tshan ” with a tagline A Christmas in September ”. Produced by Kishore Dungmali Rai under Sinai Enterprises , whose earlier Nepali film “ Angalo Yo Maya Ko ” starring Prashant Tamang , Indian Idol winner was a major success. Anmol Tshan comes with technical maturity and could be counted among the films that could change the perspective scenario of film-making in Sikkim. Despite newcomers, the film sincerely attempts to highlight the approach of a living relationship and its bitter consequence, which is a common trend in major towns and cities. The film Anmol Tshan (Precious Moment) makes us believe that responsibility comes with a better understanding that we do not bother to look upon. Running away from the crisis isn’t the solution; one must be courageous enough to face it. The film is more about family values and being together that make life beautiful and memorable. The story of the film revolv...

  Romeo in Sikkim actor Shyam Pradhan felicitated at 41st Singtam Basibiyalo

This beautiful song is sang by Suman Kalyanpur.

pic from Santa Banta Yuden Zongtenpa plays a key role in the movie "....and Once More" directed by the famed Amol Palekar. The film is exclusively shot in Sikkim. Yuden Zongtenpa is a student of Tashi Namgyal Academy.  Below is the extract of the review of the film that was screened in Goa Sikkimese Child Actress Grabs Hearts By Andrew Stephenson - BollySpice.com 29 Nov 2009 Trapped between Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan, the mountainous Himalayan kingdom of Sikkim, which only officially became part of India in 1975, is not known for the number of Bollywood actors it produces - but it may have found a star of the future in seven-year-old Yuden Zongtempa. Yuden steals the movie in Avartan (now "....and Once More") , currently being screened at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. Yuden, who is being raised in California where her father is an IT professional, had no problems with the dialogue as the film was shot in English.  The movie's title refers t...

When I was writing this article, I took notice of the talks about the documentary film  Sikkim,  directed by the maestro Satyajit Ray.  Had Sikkim not remained a thumb-sized state of mighty India and had Ray not been the larger-than-life character after receiving the ultimate dream in filmmaking (the Oscars) in today's scenario, I am sure no one could have ever talked about Sikkim , the long-lost documentary film made on the monarchy rule of Sikkim then in 1971.    It was thought to be lost, and how a single copy was found in the lab of British film archives and how it was converted into DVD format is still more of a mystery, but all thanks to technology, I am sure some days later, we shall watch Ray's fantasy of Sikkim on screen. So when everyone is talking about this small documentary, why not refresh ourselves with a few other Hindi films that were picturized in this spectacular and serene part of Sikkim?      The panoramic beauty of the...

Pakyong: “Adhuro Aanth” a nepali video film based on a love-story was premiered at the Community Hall in Pakyong, East Sikkim on February 13 by Deorali Film Production (DFP). It is DFP’s first film in which all the actors are from Sikkim . The story is written by Tshering Choden Subba, on which cinematography has been done by Nandu Koirala with music by Suman Karki. The film is produced by Purna Subba and Directed by Mr. Kumar Pradhan (Kuku). The low budget film has been a good success for DFP which aims at a big screen production in the near future. Actor Binoy Maningla is in the lead role of the film with actresses Kavita Subba and Purna Subba also in leading roles. Outdoor shooting of the film is done entirely in the two constituencies of Sikkim, namely, Yuksum and Loosing- Pacheykhani. The audience i...

Gangtok : She is called ‘Sahasi Nayika’ in Kolliwood. She had jumped 120 feet from a Fistel Air Helicopter that no other actor had dared. The record is of Rusma Rai, a Sikkimese girl of Daragaon, Tadong. She left Sikkim five years ago to pursue a career in film as an actress and has since made a niche herself as an actress in Kollywood, a film society in Kathmandu. Like Hindi films, Rusma says Nepali films now have a great demand for stunt actors. In Kollywood, only Nikhil Upreti is known as a stunt hero and has great demand in Nepali films, but he has jumped only from 50 feet. “I have jumped nearly three times greater height than him, and, what is more, I am a girl,” she said, adding, “That is why nowadays I am called Sahasi Nayika (brave actress).” Regaling the story of her stunt shooting, she said, “I was shooting for ‘Mission Love in Sikkim’ in the title role. There was a need for a stunt scene shooting, and I was called upon to do it. I became prepared, did the role I was ...

Gangtok , Nov. 22 : The first Nepali film made entirely in Sikkim with an all-Sikkimese cast will have its premiere in a theatre here on Sunday. The film's Promos, Tyag , currently dominates local cable and radio channels. The premiere will be held at the Vajra Theatre in Baluakhani here. “We shot the entire film within the state. We especially wanted to highlight the beautiful locations of Sikkim,” said Ranjit Singh , who has written and directed Tyag. Singh has woven the story of Tyag around the lead pair of Devang Sunar and Nivedita Pariyar, both upcoming actors from Sikkim. Though mounted as a mainstream commercial film, Tyag does touch upon subjects like the exploitation of women and AIDS . Kaala Multimedia Centre, Gangtok, has produced the film, the shooting for which began on May 20.  The total budget of the film is around Rs 40 lakh. Madhusudhan Lama and Suman Karki composed the music, while the producers used local singers like Thupden Bhutia, Sonam Doma Bhutia , an...