“Pooja, Sir,” the crime film that shows you Nepal in its “raw reality”
“From the very first scene, the film will captivate you with its specific staging,” warned the Kathmandu Post . in March 2025, when Pooja, Sir was released in Nepal. A lot of handheld shots, a rendering of “raw realism”: it makes you “feel less like you’re watching a movie and more like you’re observing reality with your own eyes,” added the country’s main English-language daily.
“Gritty” is also the expression used by the Nepali Times . Author and historian Sophia L. Pandé, a regular columnist for the Kathmandu-based English-language weekly, praises the film as “a feature film that , for once, does not attempt to romanticize or exoticize Nepal’s culture and landscapes,” and instead strives to portray Nepalese society in all its complexity.
The feature film, directed by Deepak Rauniyar, is set in a town in Madhesh province, on the border with India. This plains region in southeastern Nepal is home to a large Madheshi community, a distant descendant of people from India who face discrimination in the country.
The action takes place in 2015, a year when a proposed constitution stirs up communal tensions and sparks a wave of protests in Madhesh. In this volatile context, Inspector Pooja (played by Asha Magrati, the filmmaker's wife and collaborator, who also writes and produces) is dispatched from Kathmandu, the capital, to investigate the kidnapping of two boys. “One of the children is the son of a very influential Madhesh leader locally. The other, his friend, is the son of the domestic worker,” summarizes the Nepali Times.
“It’s not difficult to guess which of these two disappearances warranted the arrival of a high-ranking investigator from Kathmandu.”
Hailing from northern Nepal, Pooja is a Pahadi, a “hill dweller,” with a lighter complexion. There, she discovers the discrimination faced by the Madheshi, the “lowlanders,”—particularly in the way Mamata (Nikita Chandak), a local police officer, is treated by her superiors. Deepak Rauniyar knows this subject firsthand: he himself is from the Madheshi ethnic group, while his wife is a Pahadi. It's no secret that Pooja's journey is largely inspired by that of Asha Magrati.
The Nepalese press as a whole has highlighted the originality of Pooja's character. Deepak Rauniyar has made a habit of giving this name, which means "veneration" or "adoration," to a female character in each of his films, notes the daily Kantipur . And each time, it is a "strong, independent, courageous" character, who follows her path without worrying about supporting or comforting the male heroes—a far cry, therefore, from the stereotypes that still shape Bollywood cinema today, which is influential in all countries of the Indian subcontinent.
The investigator, with a square build and short hair, is “the heroine we were waiting for: bold, intelligent, powerful, and full of empathy,” enthuses the Kathmandu Post. In Madhesh, she “finds herself in a city and a culture foreign to her, racing against time to save two children,” describes the Nepali Times. The hunt for the kidnappers will lead her, the Pahadi, to the heart of the Madhesh protest marches.
In another article , the Kathmandu Post shares two other challenges she faces: she is also “a lesbian in an intolerant society” and “the daughter of a father in declining health, with whom she has a complicated relationship.” Racial inequality, corruption, misogyny, sexual discrimination, repression… Many threads intertwine in Pooja, Sir. Too many, perhaps. Still, Deepak Rauniyar’s feature film offers an opportunity to discover Nepal as it is rarely seen in cinema.
“It’s not a perfect film, but it will stay with you for a long time. It will mark an important, if not vital, step in the evolution of Nepali [independent] cinema, which is working to offer better, more ambitious productions,” insists Sophia L. Pandé in the Nepali Times.
For its part, the Kathmandu Post praises the "accuracy" of the perspective taken on the frustrations and revolt of the Madheshi community. The police investigation, while sometimes losing its way, at least has the merit of projecting us into an unknown and disconcerting universe. "Even the weather plays a symbolic role," it continues. "The scenes take place under a gloomy, gray sky. This grayness reflects the unrest depicted, the absence of peace, and the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Madheshi struggle."
Courrier International is a partner of this film.
