{"id":40386,"date":"2024-11-06T14:48:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T19:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=40386"},"modified":"2025-05-15T14:03:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T18:03:39","slug":"film-by-coms-rauniyar-is-a-bridge-between-communities","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/film-by-coms-rauniyar-is-a-bridge-between-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Film by COM\u2019s Rauniyar Is A \u2018Bridge Between Communities\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin bu-blocks-block-editorial-leadin is-style-default has-media has-media-focus-center-middle\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image.png\" class=\"\" alt=\"Man with tiger mask on top of hear standing between police and civillians\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image-636x424.png 636w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image-900x600.png 900w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image-450x300.png 450w, https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/image-600x400.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFilm by COM\u2019s Rauniyar Is A <strong>\u2018<\/strong>Bridge Between Communities\u2019\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-categories\">\n\t\t\t<ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/category\/film-television\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFilm &amp; TV\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">November 6, 2024<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/authors\/kayla-baltazar\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKayla Baltazar\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div style=\"display:none;\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-inner js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t<h4>Share<\/h4>\n\t\t<p class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-title\">Film by COM\u2019s Rauniyar Is A \u2018Bridge Between Communities\u2019<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-share-tools-article-link\">\n\t\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" value=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/film-by-coms-rauniyar-is-a-bridge-between-communities\/\" readonly>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<label>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Copy URL:<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"js-prepress-component-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Copy<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/label>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p>Growing up in Nepal, Deepak Rauniyar didn\u2019t have many opportunities to watch films. The first time he went to a movie theater, he was 13 years old. Instantly, he was hooked on the art form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While he was interested in the medium, he noticed early on that few people on the screen or behind the scenes looked like him. Films weren\u2019t reflecting the problems in society he noticed growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI came into filmmaking to bring a side of the story that I wanted to bring onto the screen that felt important for me, and was not being told,\u201d Rauniyar said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rauniyar directed and produced multiple films set in Nepal. His most recent film, \u201cPooja, Sir,\u201d is a detective thriller based on real events in Nepal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-bucom-black-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><div class=\"videoWrapper\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1074609284?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" title=\"Pooja Sir\"><\/iframe><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/api\/player.js\"><\/script><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The film follows a <strong>queer<\/strong> detective named Pooja, played by Asha Magrati, who is married to Rauniyar and frequently collaborates with him. Pooja is sent to a town to investigate the kidnapping of two boys. However, as Pooja investigates, she finds growing political unrest and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a light-skinned detective, Pooja works to solve the case while seeing firsthand the protests and discrimination the Madhesi community faced. The movie explores the relationship between light-skinned people and dark-skinned people in Nepal, among other tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Rauniyar, \u201cPooja, Sir\u201d is inspired by the relationship between him and Magrati. They wanted to create a bridge between the communities and show others around the world what many people in Nepal are going through. Rauniyar knew that as a Madhesi director, he had a responsibility to tell this story.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe hope this film becomes a bridge between communities, since so much discrimination stems from not knowing or understanding one another,\u201d he said. \u201cRacism, colorism, homophobia, and misogyny aren\u2019t just issues in Nepal. They\u2019re universal challenges, and painfully present here in the country I\u2019ve called home for 14 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPooja, Sir\u201d premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August. It was featured in the Busan Film Festival in October, and will premiere in the United States on Nov. 16 at the San Diego Asian Film Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI feel proud that I get to share the emotion that I was going through, and also feel glad that it has resonated [with] other people,\u201d Rauniyar said. \u201cIt&#8217;s one of the things I really loved in this profession: that you can make a film somewhere far, far away, and then you travel around the world screening it, meeting people, and [it] still connects with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img src=\"\/com\/files\/2024\/11\/2024-Headshot_Deepak-Rauniyar_001-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"Man in blue shirt crossing arms and smiling at camera\" class=\"wp-image-40388\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Now an associate professor of the practice in film and television at Boston University\u2019s College of Communication, Rauniyar hopes to work with students from different backgrounds to help them tell their stories, too. Filmmakers, he said, have the opportunity to provoke conversations about issues in society across the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI want my students to get to recognize themselves, why they&#8217;re making a film in the first place, and what this medium means for them,\u201d Rauniyar said. \u201c[I want] to help them recognize their voice and their reason to be in filmmaking, and be conscious about the world that we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up in Nepal, Deepak Rauniyar didn\u2019t have many opportunities to watch films. The first time he went to a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24086,"featured_media":40390,"template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"bu-publication":[],"discipline-type":[],"bu_edition":[],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/40386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24086"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/40386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42443,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/40386\/revisions\/42443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"discipline-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/discipline-type?post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=40386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}