Waiting to be caught on reel

Gangtok, Oct. 22: Having provided a platform for Nepali singers in the Himalayan Idol organised earlier this year, S.K. Audiovision, the only Nepali music company, is now eyeing their next project — a Marwari film to be shot entirely in Sikkim.

Rakesh Somani, the proprietor of S.K. Audivision, told The Telegraph that while the movie was still in its conceptual stage, they were looking for a scriptwriter for the family drama. The movie will be interwoven with the usual song and dance sequences and sprinkled with action.

The commercial feature film will be the first of its kind to be made in the region and is aimed at the sizeable Marwari population living in Sikkim and its adjacent areas.

Somani said the Marwari dialect spoken in the region was very different from that in Rajasthan.

“The Marwaris living in this part had settled long ago and the dialect has also undergone a change because of its contact with Nepali and other local languages,” said Somani, who himself is a third generation Marwari born in Sikkim.

The company is initially planning the movie on a 3 CCD camera and a sum of Rs 15 lakh has been set aside initially for the project, according to Somani. Pramod Dalmia, the chief executive officer of Sikkim Motors, the authorised dealers of the Mahindra group here, has chipped in and will be co-producing the movie with Somani. The proprietor of S.K. Audivision is the producer-director and will also handle the technical part of the movie.

S.K. Audiovision has also decided to involve a star cast from Sikkim as well as the neighbouring areas. The artistes and the technicians will also be from the state.

The three-hour movie which is to begin shooting by the end of December will be shot in locations within Sikkim. Two months have been set aside for the shoot while another two months will be allowed for editing and other technical adjustments. The release is expected in ther spring of 2007.

Earlier this year, S.K. Audiovision provided a platform for Nepali singing sensations like Banika Pradhan of Kurseong who went on to win the competition. The company also regularly churns out Nepali albums and videos.