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Bhushan Dahal

Up close and intimate interview with Bhushan Dahal. The man who changed the traditional trend of TV and gave a new life to it. OurNepal.com family is proud to present him as our first personality featured in its segment. Know more about his hardship and his thoughts...

Personals
Date of Birth:
May 18,1966(Taurus)
Your external features?
Hair - Use to be jet black; Eyes - Still black; Skin - Olive
Marital status
Married
What do you do to chill out?
try to grab a subzero bottle of water

Schooling days:
My education started from Kanti Iswori. Then I went to St. Xavier’s. After that I got into Buddhanilkantha. All my life I have tried to understand and improvise. I can categorically say I was intelligent.

 
     
 

The beginning:
My career started accidentally. I got an offer to join, as a producer in 1988-89 in NTV (Nepal Tele Vision). I was a critic of tele. My parents did not support me whole-heartedly. There were very little choices and tele was not that popular. But they were happy that I had got into something.

Friends and Family
There were hardly any inspirations. Many of my friends were happy go lucky. We could fit in anywhere. My mother was a full time mother to me and my father who was into construction, made the first private venture “Maiti Ghar”.

VJing The First English Music Program on NTV "The Sunday POP"
VJing came later in my professional life. The show was a huge success. That era created a room for me to grow. I was given a lot of liberty to have creative ideas. i was so much in to it that home became a second home to me.
I realized that being a mediocre is not enough nowadays. I converted that to learning process. I have worked with old & new directors and editors learning something or the other along the way. We could not emulate foreign channels like now. So everything was created personally. During my VJing days with NTV, I realized that my fan following was growing but I was not. Whenever I used to go to parties the people used to talk about politics and I talked about Michael Jackson and Phil Collins.

 
     
 

Change of track
Being odd in the crowd and realizing it at the same time, I then started changing everything about myself. I started a new program on NTV by the name of "Pratibimba". Around 2 months later, I then realized I was back on track. The program was about reflection of Nepal. I did cover stories on heritage, dead subjects, history and wild life sanctuaries. That helped me broaden up my horizon.

International offer
I then was offered to take up the job of working as an Executive Producer in "Young Asia Television" from Sri Lanka. I took that job for almost a year. It was about addressing the youth with non-youthy things. Pottery and flood situations etc. I headed people from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Scandinavian countries at the same time getting a perspective of all around Nepal. They wanted end products and results. That made me capable of handling projects and delivering at the same time.
After that I came back to NTV and joined as the Chief of "International Relations" and "Chief of Morning Transmission". That was a huge responsibility which i thoroughly enjoyed it and had a great experience.

Beginning of the new era of Pvt. TV Channel
I then was asked to head "Image Channel". We did a lot of experimenting. In three years with Image TV. I learnt a lot of things geometrically. Then I started a software company to work on television-material, DibyaDhristi.I invested all I had on the firm. We made lots TV programs and music videos under the banner of "Divya Dhristi". When the clients were happy so was I.
When I realized that it was losing money I slowly started pulling money out of the firm. Then again I was out of job. That was the lowest phase of my career. Suddenly I got an impulse to make "Disha Nirdesh" a political program on NTV and asked Bijay Kumar to anchor it. I devoted all my time to this show as I had not done political show till then. The 12 shows we made was a great success and helped me revive my career again. Then came the bloom of television on private sectors. I felt rewarded when Kantipur Television asked me work for them.

 
     
  One on One
I admire: Passionate working
I believe: In hard work
I am superstitious about: Politics
I have a dream: To wake up well the next morning
I always carry with me: my self
 
     
  Favourites
Which artists inspire you? Picasso
What kind of music relaxes you and who sings it best? With the walkman on ....I Do
Which labels do you think are worth spending your expenses? Hugo Boss suits
Where in town do you spend your nightlife? There's an old joint "my bed room"
Bedtime story (books)? Jack and the bean stalk
 
     
  Perceptions in Life
Life is: A bundle of surprises. It is a very rough ride. It is very wavy.
Death is: The ultimate truth. It comes on your door and takes you away.
 
     
 

What are the current projects you are working on?
Kantipur itself is a project of mine. The next phase is to extend time, be different, formulate ideas and even extend it all over Nepal.

 
     
  Which poetic verse you like the most?
There is one Nepali song that in life everything has been done only death is left. You are not inspired by verses. You enjoy them.
 
     
  Priceless moments
Most memorable moment: When I was asked to judge on a "Global Television Film Festival" in China.
Saddest moment: When we lost the Royal family.
Funniest moment: I think when you drive around Kathmandu. In Nepal driving is reading other people's minds.
 
     
  Nowadays we have a lot of lip-sync in ads. specially Indian to Nepali, do you think is right and how does it effect on the uplift of the media sector in Nepal?
I think we are sentimentally right but professionally we are wrong. India does a good job of advertising. They spend millions on one film. Why shouldn’t they have the chain benefits of it? We Have to become more capable. If we can dub an Indian film internationally why can't we dub an Indian commercial? People are making ad films with 20,00 bucks which is impossible. India also got its help from the government. Foreign models were barred from acting in commercials. Also India is a country where the film fraternity is as large as it can be. In Nepal the film industry is not even contributing in its own trade.
 
     
 

Are you a workaholic?
I think the word credits me. At times I still work late. If passion is attached I work till I finish it. Till I am physically capable I will continue contributing one way or the other towards television. Jobs come and go. I am a professional. Nobody sums up and says that I have given my 15 years to television. I haven't changed my field. I am thinking of writing something along the lines of my life and television.

Tell us three things people do not know about you?
I don't open much but when I open up it is very difficult for me to shut up.
I am socially active. I have lots of friends.
I don't want to change anything about my external appearance.

 
     
 

Last Impression
You want to be remembered as:
When I read obituaries tough people are remembered as soft spoken. So I am probably going to be remembered as a good guy.

Dreams:
My dream is I wish serious people with creative ideas would join television. The time has come.

Your thoughts on OurNepal.com:
It’s a fantastic name that you have got “OurNepal.com”. It should be plastered all around town because nobody feels that it is ournepal anymore. We have everything but it has not been properly publicized.

 

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