Highway

Set among the breathtaking landscapes of Eastern Nepal, HIGHWAY, the first full-length feature of director Deepak Rauniyar, follows the journey of nine characters whose individual stories become accidentally interconnected during an ill-fated bus journey to the capital Kathmandu. The passengers — each of whom urgently needs to be somewhere else – find themselves stranded on the only highway due to an improvised and unlawful strike known as a "bandh". While the passengers work out a resolution to escaping the combustible strike, the film shifts into their psychological and spiritual "bandhs", exploring a situation that many Nepalis are contending with since the end of the bloody 12-year civil conflict. The film is co-produced by acclaimed actor/producer Danny Glover and Emmy® nominated producer Joslyn Barnes for Louverture Films, New York. Dr. Lonim P. Dixit, Dr. Sameer M. Dixit and Mita Hosali are the executive producers of the film.

HIGHWAY is the major way through your life... You cannot see what is there ahead and you don't know how to face it.

Highway is just like a life.. It goes on and nothing extraordinary happens. A movie has a simple start.. And everything goes just simply throughout 80 minutes. But its a kind of movie that once you watched it for 80 minutes you need to think for around 160 minutes to analyze.. And that's the main beauty of this movie. Being a completely different taste in Nepali film industry, Highway is an absolute non commercial and movie with no end. Simple but extremely natural screenplay, a good editing art, flawless performance and a purely refined storytelling technique makes this movie a unique most movie in Nepali Cinema till date... It may not among the world's best art films but definitely is a winner start in Nepal... My two thumbs are not sufficient to support this movie for certain parts that I liked.Stories are expressed in extremely unique way. Truly deserves the international platform like BFF. The subject matters taken in the story are the mirrors that reflect the social life of this century. While watching this movie, first scene to last scene you feel the same. Nothing exciting happens, nor you get bored. Definitely the direction is acceptable. Background score is fine, cinematography is not extremely wonderful but suits the movie in its own way.....

What worked: I must say the cinematography stood out amongst the movie's production team. It's commendable and praiseworthy. Deepak is one of those Nepali filmmaker that keeps the hope alive. I loved the multifaceted narrative and the way the characters are connected somehow. This movie presents some of the most popular Nepali artists, and it's good to see them improvise the scenes, and most of them have been fine. The movie has subplots and they are well written making the narrative interesting and engaging. Overall, it's one of those movies that is great for the ambitious project that the movie set to acquire What did not work: I think the length of the movie could have been a bit longer to fit all the characters' story and their climaxes because there were room for improvements and better conclusions. Although it's a unique screenplay as per the Nepali industry, it's still not the complete one for me. If only the movie was more suggestive with added scenes, it would have had the impact that the movie projected to achieve. Final verdict: recommended

Highway, is the international class Nepali movie directed by Deepak Rauniyar. Before joining movie industry he was a movie critic. His depth study of Nepalese society reflects in the HIGHWAY . Highway is the mix story of Nepalese society's different character, with main story of the Highway's Band (blocked). Great part of the movie is the its story telling . Hollywood class editing and its cinematography makes it a international class Nepalese movie. The movie made on a common problem in Nepal– Nepal Bandh.The unusual road drama centers around an ill-fated journey on a highway from eastern Nepal to Kathmandu, the nation's capital. The movie 'Highway' had created a big buzz and a hype among Nepali youths before its release.

There have been a few little cinematic gems portraying life in the developing world in recent years. Add this as one of the best in the genre. And if there is one movie you watch about Nepal to understand its people and their everyday lives, make it Highway. A film that neither exoticizes Nepal for its beautiful landscape nor exploits it for its poverty and civil war, Highway is the most authentic film to portray Nepal in its diversity, hopes and difficulties.

A bus full of people leaves from Eastern Nepal to Kathmandu, the capital. Along the way, they are stopped several times because of bandhs – a form of protests where the highways are blocked and traffic brought to a half. We meet several characters on the ride, each with their own story and urgency to reach Kathmandu on time. A young woman can't decide between her boyfriend and the fiancé who has arrived from the US to marry her (and has been involved in a hit-and-run accident). A Gurkha soldier rushes to his wife in time to try out a fertility potion he's swallowed (not knowing she's kept some secrets from him). A gay man hopes to reunite with his estranged lover; and the bus driver knows the woman he loves may be forced back into prostitution if he doesn't show up with money for her sick child.

The scenes oscillate between the bus ride and their unique and morally confounding stories, deftly using with flashbacks. Using his experience at BBC radio, the director uses on-the-spot sounds complemented by some beautiful camera-work. The bus ride itself serves as a metaphor for this beautiful but impoverished country's emergence from a decade long civil war, its faltering peace process, and the resilience and hopes of its people. Highway is easily the best film from the country to date.