If there is one man who can craft a story into music so well
that it remains in the heart of Nepalese, then it's Prakash Saput.
From each single piece, he sets up a new trend. The
saddening telltale of Bola Maya portrayed a real life sequence of a lower
middle class family wherein a young member goes for work in the Gulf only to
return dead. Dohori battle, though many connoisseurs didn't acknowledge it as a
pure form of progressive art, caught a loud audience of youngsters which fueled
him to bring its sequel. Both the pieces stood out well in Nepalese music
industries.
Then came Galbandi. It was a hurricane whose musical notes
rippled swathes of pub, stage shows, wedding, picnic and other dance parties,
almost categorically. There is now, perhaps, no one who does not think of
Prakash Saput's galbandi chyatiyo song when s/he hears the word
"Galbandi." No more words that does justice to this song because
each time I listen, this song becomes even more beautiful. Afresh and
heartwarming.
Now trending on 1 is Badala Barilai. The next day from its
upload on 1st of August, it's on pinnacle on YouTube Nepal. For the first time
Prakash is not on the screen, among all his popular pieces. He is lyricist and
musician of the song, and director of the video.
I am not praising Prakash Saput as a person. I am
acknowledging his creativity on how he can transform his imagination into
cinematically flawless masterwork. Badala Barilai has proven every inch of this
statement. Apart from music and melody, I am talking about three major
components of this piece in this article.
Character selection
Those fearful little girls peeking from the door who get
frightened of their dad's shouting, the cruelty and arrogance of the
philandering antagonist, the ingenuousness of Keki Adhikari, all deserve rounds
and rounds of applause. The characterization is tour de force.
Storytelling
The lyrics are good, though it could have been excellent.
But everything else was so perfect that lyrics would not matter, after all. The
visual speaks the story by itself. A socially recognized patriarch who is
thought to be the protector of the society secretly indulges into sexual
exploitation, kidnapping, rape and murder. His influence and connection offer
him a leeway to repeat such crimes until one last time where the phantom of a
victim (Keki Adhikari) takes revenge to death and hangs him in a tree branch of
the dreaded jungle where all incidents took place. The vocal just transitions
the gap in the visual because visual is very powerful. It's not a music video;
it's the whole length of a movie shortened to 15 minutes. It's something not to
enjoy in a cozy sofa, it's rather a thought-provoking video that demands
viewers understanding and reflection.
Harassment, assault and rape has become a social phenomenon. The protectors are the destroyers. They roam around with chin high up in the society surrounded by the sycophants. Impunity encourages them and their cult to relish on sexual rapture from the voiceless girls. They buy the law and police parasitize them. The intricate system is webbed to leverage the malefactors. The situation is so disheartening now that penalizing a felony is not a real-life task. You have to die and come back as a ghost to punish your rapist. Yes, the general public has to resort upon supernatural beliefs now to criminalize the culprits after trust in the judiciary has been tainted.
The horror
There are five white-dressed young girls looming out from the
darkness with enkindled candles in their hands. When they skulk singing in
chorus in a brooding ambiance, it sends chills down the spine. It appears that
they are the departed soul of the victims. Keki's ghost, with her company in
the backdrop, takes a hitchhike on the perpetrator's motorbike. He takes
her to the same part of the jungle and he realizes she is not human. Now some
horrors: lightning, ghost face, haze of fogs, screams and all. With one quick
jolt the ghost kills the culprit by the neck as seen blurry by the distance.
Your body is filled with goose bumps one more time as the
Grim Reaper drops hand close to the screen.
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