Writer-director Tribeny Rai’s Nepali-language feature Shape of Momo is competing for two major awards—the Best Debut Director under the Indian Panorama’s feature category and the Best Debut Feature Film of a Director in International Competition —during IFFI, Goa.
Directing a Nepali-language movie, shot in a Sikkim village, was not an easy choice for Rai but definitely proved to be rewarding. “Filmmakers don’t attempt telling stories of different regions, since there are so many challenges involving finance and finding an audience. There is no industry for Nepali films. So, people often question the marketability of such projects,” says Rai, a direction and screenplay graduate from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata.
Though Rai started developing the film’s story soon after graduating from SRFTI in 2015, she started working on it dedicatedly five years later. Around then, Kislay Kislay joined her as the co-writer. “My initial script was more like a complaint letter. We wanted to be more objective. We wanted to be critical about our protagonist too. She is class-conscious and can be stubborn,” she says and adds that Kislay, who spent some time in Sikkim, brought in a lot of objectivity.
Shape of Momo follows the story of 32-year-old Bishnu, who returns to her village after quitting her city job. Living at home with her grandmother, mother and pregnant sister, she questions the norms. She struggles to confirm or give up her ideas of independence. When she befriends a local architect Gyan, things appear to change. Still, she continues to deal with family pressures and societal expectations.
The film’s story loosely resembles Rai’s life. Her father passed away when she was young. She and her three sisters lived with their mother. “It was a house full of women. Since we did not have a male member, I have always felt that pressure,” says Rai, who is taking the film to the Singapore International Film Festival next.
Rai shares a strong emotional connection with her village, Nandok, located about 20 km from Gangtok. She shot the film at her own home and used the locations surrounding it. “Where Bishnu (the film’s protagonist) goes for a run is where I go regularly. Even my room is shown as her room in the movie,” says Rai.
While developing Bishnu’s character, both Rai and Kislay were certain about adding complexities to her character. “People living in the hills are often shown as simpletons and that bothers me. As humans we are all complex,” she says.
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Working with like-minded people aided Rai’s filmmaking process. “My film school friends believed in my vision. Being at the Work-in-Progress Lab at the NFDC Film Bazaar last year, where it won the top prize, and receiving the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum Goes to Cannes award helped in shaping the character as well as gaining visibility,” she says.
Travelling to different festivals has not allowed her much time to think about her next project. She, however, is co-producing Kislay’s next feature—A Death Foretold, which is in the co-production market of the WAVES Film Bazaar.
Rai spends most of her time at her village when she does not have to travel for work. “Creatively, it works for me as I don’t have the constant pressure of producing something. It has a flipside. Since I am at home writing, many assume I am jobless. So, I end up doing chores and driving my mother to weddings and funerals.” That perception has changed since she made the film, which she eventually wants to release in Sikkim and Nepali-speaking areas.
