Singer/songwriter Prakash Saput is one among those, who garnered popularity and success relatively in a short period. His debut song Bol Maya, released in 2018 became a turning point for his musical career. The song’s music video, which vividly depicts the bitter reality of a citizen who went for foreign employment, won the hearts of thousands of people. Subsequently, his other songs, Galbandi, Pir, Damai Maharaja and Bujina Maile from the movie Bokshi Ko Ghar, also garnered significant popularity.
Saput, who is well known for portraying the bitter realities of society through music videos, is now preparing to switch to films.
Why film?
“The love and support I received from the people for my musical works has always energised me to become creative,” says Saput, “I want such energy to go to waste, so I thought it was the best time to make a movie.”
Likewise, Saput has also started to feel monotonous doing music videos for all these years. Saput’s debut movie Basanta as a director is slated to release in April 2025.
Saput feels that he must create something that will make him immortal, and he believes that now is the right time to create something that will make people remember him in his afterlife.
Saput had a long-time dream of making a film. He wrote the script of the movie in 2012 when he went to work in a restaurant in the UAE. He has included his experiences in the movie script.
Saput had a hard time deciding on the title of the movie. As the movie depicts the story of caste-based discrimination, he wanted a name that everyone could easily remember. After thinking about the title for a long time, he found the name Basanta. Saput believes that Basanta has multiple meanings.
Background of Basanta
The title Basanta is easy to remember. As the Basanta (spring) season is a time when flowers blossom, Saput believes the name symbolises that the character of the movie will also cultivate new thoughts, like flowers in spring.
He further says that Basanta is the most appropriate word to raise the issue of the Dalit community.
Saput is making a film in a time like this when hardly any Nepali film becomes commercially successful. In this context, he says, “The weaker the market, the greater the opportunity.”
Good films are earning as well. He believes that film can do well if its story is relevant to the viewers.
Through Basanta, instead of merely raising awareness about society, Saput wants to creatively depict societal realities.
Love for live shows
Talking to Onlinekhabar, Saput also shared his passion for live shows. He prefers them over studio recordings. Saput recalls travelling to Panchthar for a live show just one day after announcing the film. This demonstrates how much he loves performing live.
“It feels great to be on stage performing a song that tells a story,” says Saput.
In recent times the music videos of Saput have been receiving criticism because of the number of advertisements it features. The viewers have been complaining that those advertisements break their concentration and do not give the right feel of listening to the song.
“To overcome the risk that the investment made to create something from the heart, won’t go in loss, various advertisements have been featured in all the latest music videos,” says Saput. “Gradually people will become more accustomed to it.”
