Shankhadhar Yaa Baakha, recants the story of Shankhadhar Saakhwa—a local hero credited for establishing the Nepal Sambat. To that end, the plot traces the historical narrative of Shankhadhar paying off the debt of all the residents of Kathmandu Valley, and thus beginning the calendar which began with the “year all debts were paid,” as Nepal Sambat has been cited as in historical documents.

Shankhadhar catches sight of the porters and is surprised to see the two excavating sand from the river early in the morning. He encounters them again, while they are resting at a sattal—their kharpans stacked with sand lying next to them. When Shankhadhar inquires into where they are hauling the sand to, they inform him of their destination: Bhaktapur. Intrigued further, Shankhadhar invites them to his home and coaxes them to leave the sand there and to excavate another batch from the river to take to Bhaktapur, which they willingly do.

The animated movie based on the above story brings Nepal’s national hero and initiator of Nepal Sambat to the silver screen for the very first time. Sanyukta Shrestha, the producer, director and writer of the movie, must be commended to that end. What’s more, an attempt has been made to relate this historical story with the present day context. This has been accomplished by starting the narrative with the Nepal earthquake of April 25, 2015, which destroys the innumerable heritage sites and buildings in Kathmandu.

In the movie, Siddhiwant Joshi’s voice has been lent by comedy king Madan Krishna Shrestha, and that of Bhaktapur’s king Ananda Dev by Madan Das Shrestha. The two porters have been voiced by popular artists Rajaram Poudel and Kiran KC. Similarly, the lead character has been played by Suraj Bajracharya, while Sunita Rajbhandari ‘Junu’ and Shlesha Shrestha have lent their voices to the narrating mother and the daughter.

There is no doubt that the Legend of Shankhadhar is a breakthrough project that has charted new horizons. But partly because it has no other bench mark to aspire to, it does have its shortfalls. The need for an in-depth research on historical facts related to Shankhadhar is still wanting, and as a result, no new clues are revealed in the movie—with it being based entirely on popular legend. Neither does the movie fully cover all known facts. Shankhadhar could have been shown witnessing some more debt related incidents. It is a proven fact that Thakuri king Raghav Dev, son of Man Dev, ruled Kathmandu at the time, while Man Dev’s youngest son Ananda Dev ruled Bhaktapur. Such facts have been omitted. Had the running time been a little longer, such inclusions could have been made. Here, budget limitations undoubtedly played its part.

Regardless, it is a milestone that Nepal’s first animated movie will soon be released. And with it, Shankhadhar Saakhwa, who until now remained an obscure, almost mythical figure, resigned to folk tales is being brought to life on the silver screen—which in itself is a laudable achievement.

In Nepal, the movie is being presented by Gwahali and screened at the Microsoft Innovation Centre in Kichapokhari on Dec 31st.
There will be three shows – 1pm (in Nepali), 2:30pm & 4pm (in Nepal Bhasha).
To book your tickets and for more details, call 98130-43484.

Photo courtesy: www.yantrakala.com