Nepal’s star shines in Locarno

Min Bahadur Bham’s latest feature Shambhala was the first Nepali film to be selected for the main competition at the Berlinale this year, ushering in a new era for Nepali cinema. 

Thinley Lhamo won the Boccalino d'Oro Prize for Best Acting Performance at the 77th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland last week for her role as Pema – the first not just for Nepal but for the whole of South Asia.

 Shambhala was shot in Dolpo and is the story of Pema, who is married to Tashi and is also an accompanying spouse to her monk brother-in-law Karma. Tashi leaves for a trip to Lhasa, and Pema finds out she is pregnant. The legitimacy of the child is questioned, so Pema travels to find Tashi, an ultimate journey of self-discovery and liberation.

“I didn’t believe I had done enough work to be called an actor, but the award definitely gives me confidence and assurance to be one,” Lhamo, 27, told Nepali Times on return from Switzerland.  

Polyandry used to be common among Nepal’s Himalayan communities, and is also a familiar theme in Hindu mythology. A woman taking on brothers as spouses was traditionally seen as a sensible way to keep small land holdings intact, prevent families from breaking apart, and save women from the stigma of widowhood. 

Like Pema, Thinley Lhamo’s personal life has also been a journey of self-discovery. As an artsy child, she always participated in extracurricular activities at boarding school in Boudha. She once dreamt of being a flight attendant, but realised she wanted to do something in the creative field.

Her passion for dancing and singing led to her affiliation with the Nepal Tibet Opera Association (NTOA), she modelled and that brought her roles in the Nepali films ‘Naka’ and ‘Hari’ in 2018. She enjoyed the process but it also spoiled her because the films just fell into her lap.

“I had no stage presence before joining the Nepal Tibet Opera Association and I used to make a lot of weird expressions while performing,” laughs Lhamo. “From controlling my expressions during the performance to travelling long distances to perform, and it all helped me adapt to the world of film.”

There was a lull in film-making and Lhamo did a stint at an NGOs, but was on the lookout for a more meaningful acting role. When she heard about Shambhala being produced, she signed up for Anup Baral’s acting workshop to hone her skills.

That helped during the audition for the part of Pema, but working with a perfectionist director Min Bahadur Bham where her character had to carry the entire film on her shoulders was tough. She quips: “The movie starts with Pema, continues with Pema and ends with Pema.” 

It is a star-studded cast with Tenzing Dalha, Sonam Topden and Karma Shakya, but Lhamo soon got over the initial nervousness to give her character her best. Switching between Nepali and English she said, “I was mostly worried about portraying Pema earnestly, and to do justice to her character.”

Despite early success, Lhamo is down-to-earth and also self-deprecating about her horse-riding ability. The entire crew spent two months acclimatising to the terrain and culture in Dolpo before actual filming started. And part of Lhamo’s training was to learn to ride her co-star horse properly. 

The actress also had to practice climbing slopes knee-deep in snow, and perform at elevations of 5,500m on Dolpo’s high passes. Some of the film crew got altitude sickness and had to be medevaced. But all this was not as difficult as the emotions she had to muster in some of the more gut-wrenching scenes in Shambhala.

Lhamo says she learnt a lot from her more seasoned co-actors. “There were parts where I could have done better and there is always room for improvement but I believe I have done my part in playing Pema with empathy and honesty.”

Bham himself is thrilled with the recognition his film has got in Berlin and now in Locarno. He said: “The best actress award means international recognition for Nepali cinema, and is inspirational for intelligent and aspiring young Nepali actresses from the Himalaya like Thinley Lhamo.”

The film will be in theatres in Kathmandu from 13 September. Watch the trailer here.