One of the most noted photographers in Nepali fashion scene, Sanjog Rai, is all set to make another big move behind the camera.
Rai, who has directed a number of commercials and a short film in the past, is making his silver screen debut with ‘Devi’. With the screenplay by Ajay Gautam, the film is written and directed by Rai himself. Starring Gaurav Pahari, Najir Husen and Shilpa Maskey in the leading roles. The film is jointly produced by Roman Gurung and Narayan Gurung. “I have always been a huge fan of films and always wanted to make one. Growing up, I watched a lot of movies in theaters, almost every Nepali movies that released. When I started photography, my aim was to get into movies but I was just waiting for the right time as I wanted to prepare myself”, told Rai about the transition.
“Devi is a story about every woman out there and it is dedicated to our mothers, sisters, wives and friends. We have tried to show the dirty truth about violence against women, and the main issue it addresses is rape. It is about countless Nirmalas and it is about every newspaper headline that reads ‘rape cases increase in Nepal’.”
The character posters for the film were recently unveiled on social media. The principle photography of the film has been completed and it’s currently in post production. While the film was to come out in August this year, the release will be pushed back due to the current situation.
The crime suspense thriller has Shilpa playing a journalist while Gaurav and Najir will be seen portraying the characters of an investigating officer and a businessman, respectively. “I have always been huge fan of these actors. I wanted actors who could do justice to my characters and these actors excelled”, said Rai.
“We worship Devi in temples but when it comes to the women in our society, we treat them differently”, he further said. “As this is my first movie, I’m bound to make some mistakes but I’m not the kind of person who settles for mediocrity, so we will work further more to make it a solid film.”
Well, the film surely does look promising. Looking forward.
