Prasad

There are very rare instances that a Nepali Movie looked so promising from its initial few frames and Chiso Ashtray became that rare instance. Watching the movie will make you feel the utmost love, dedication and passion put out into the project.

Starting from its B/W frames Chiso Ashtray slowly delves into the life of a Taxi Driver Madan who just dropped into the bustling city of Kathmandu aka Char Bhanjyang Khalto and his life starts to feel illuminated (literally) after he fires Surya Churort. The company he makes to adapt to the city and his transformation to being modern is what the movie is all about.

First of all let's address its acting performances. The performances from the lead actor Divya Dev who plays the role of Madan is a absolute treat. He really gets into the shoes of a lonely taxi driver trying to fit in to the narrow gallis of Kathmandu. His performance shines in the second half. Another praiseworthy performance is from Nikun Shrestha playing Ronnie we can see this characters struggle through the runtime. Nabin Lamsal as Jackie also puts out some fine performance as a buffed up no-nonsense guy. Shristi however goes through a wave respective to her performance its a hit in some places and miss in some. Sushil Pandey's character is given so little to do, his presence basically feels like to appear with poker face and smile errily after sometime but he does the job well.

Interestingly I was quite impressed with Robin Tamang's performance (as compared to his previous ones) especially in that one continues shot.

The Cinematography is another highlight of the movie, it is visually impressive. The shot compositions, camera angles and transitions through various lenght trying to capture the whole of the 4 bhabjyang Khaldo seems to pop on screen.

It seemed Cinematographer loved the mirror reflection shots which he used in several instances but in just right amount.

Equally brilliant are the color pallate that are sprinkled on the screen to make Kathmandu look dreamy.

The editing is swift no complaints from it whatsoever.

Another aspect that i loved was the sound design, background score and the music of the movie. The attention to details from the sound department does feel evident in scenes like a large gallery hallway where the voices echos and towards the final act just after a confrontation where every sound around the character fades and only his voice echos in the background.

The background music feels perfectly placed and are kind of catchy with the upbeat track so are the songs (except for last one).

The dialogue which Madan speaks (especially in the voiceover) have a heft in them. But not all of the characters have been given good dialog the poor one being Jackie.

OK now let's address the biggest questions. The movie actually falls apart in the second half. All the buildup all the character development culminates into a feeble climax. I sighed when credit started to roll because there was so much that could've been done but didn't played out well in screen. The story lacked that depth, towards the climax we know Madan is deeply impacted but before we could relate to his struggles the credit start to roll which makes us such disconnected with the central character Madan. He is lonely but we rarely see him alone (except towards the end scene), his monologue via voice over are powerful but doesn't add much to his already presented personality. His transition from being a gullible village hillbilly to a modern iteration of himself are presented well via his choice of costumes and company but it's only external and not internal.

There are many themes that director Dins Palpali teases on screen like Kathmandu City turning from Singing Bowl to Chiso Ashtray, Attracting qualities of city's bustling life as compared to stagnant and dull village life, youth's frustration and them burning their futile dream download from western pop cultures like cigarettes never properly shapes on screen. The director definitely looks promising and I'm hopeful in his next projects.

Finally concluding, It's a movie with Hollywoodish style trying to narrate the issues youth's are experiencing inside the Kathmandu Khaldo. Watch it for some wonderful performances, cinematic shots and cinematography, background score and a Director's love for cinema.