Rekha Thapa debuted in her mid-teens with ‘Hero’ in 50s (BS) is popularly known as ‘lady hero’ in Nepali Film Industry. Throughout over two decades’ career, she has also established herself as a producer and director.
Beyond ‘Kollywood’, she is well-known for her active political involvement. Once associated with the Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center) briefly, Thapa switched to the pro- monarchy Rashtriya Prajatantra Party and contested unsuccessfully for the federal parliament from Morang-3.
Rekha Thapa as a guest at Desh Sanchar Chautari shared openly about her journey in the movie industry as well as her perception towards national politics.
Known for her candidness, Rekha feels the current election is dominated by money and power and needs drastic reform.
‘At a time when female leads in the movie were presented only as beauty objects, I successfully conveyed the message that there is no male and female binary in art at the cost of huge backbiting.’ She opined that what matters is the capacity to act and to lead, be it male or female.
She credited Chhabi Ojha – producer and her former husband- as her ‘god father’ who backed her to the hilt and encouraged to lead rather than just revolve around ‘Hero’, a role conventionally bestowed to ‘Men’.
‘I had nothing but a dream to be a leading actress while entering into the industry’, Rekha reminisced. ‘Any dream dreamt with an open eye is bound to be fulfilled and those who are unable to dream high are in real sense the poor. Whatsoever is your family and financial background, you are rich if you have a dream. I was rich since my childhood as I had a big dream’, she said.
Had I won the election, I would perhaps have not played any role in the movie. But I would continue to be in the industry as a producer- I can’t refrain myself from the industry as ‘Film is my first love.’
‘I am critical yet very optimistic, ‘ said Rekha, adding I was defeated in the election as a candidate. ‘However, I won as myself, being enhanced with enormous know-how of political realities on the ground.’ She revealed that she was of rebellious nature since her adolescence. She shared witnessing several instances of tangled policies and practices, among them includes marriage of daughters after twenty or earlier. That is why she was willing to rebel, reaching at policy making level.
She expressed her discontent on pre-election unprincipled alliances and reminded the difficulties she had encountered as a candidate upon coalition between party chiefs of UML and RPP in Jhapa.
She recalled various incidents of abusing resources to influence the voters – ‘I was in awe upon having Dahsain like smell -feast particularly of meat elsewhere- during the silence period in the election.’ She does not understand why the silence period is during the last 72 hours. ‘It is during this time that accounts for the highest number of misappropriations to influence poll outcome’, she opined.
Politics for her is the topmost service towards the nation but she feels the current politics is commercialized. She was confident that a genuine representative can bring both change and transformation in the concerned constituency. For this, the election procedure together with voters’ mindset must have to change.