Dayahang Rai filmography

A man with black jacket
Dayahang Rai at the International Theater Festival in 2019

Dayahang Rai is a Nepali actor who made his debut in the 2009 romantic comedy film Mero Euta Saathi Chha.[1][2] The same year, Rai appeared in the mystery Dasdhunga, in which he portrays the suspected killer of Madan Bhandari, leader of the Communist Party of Nepal;[3] this performance garnered the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.[4][5][6] In 2012, his breakthrough role came in Loot, in which he starred as Gofle, who with his four friends sets out to rob a bank in Kathmandu.[7] Rai's performance was praised and the film was a commercial success.[8][9] He then starred in Deepak Rauniyar's drama Highway (2012).[10][11] In 2013, he appeared in Badhshala, a film about the Nepalese Civil War and the human rights abuses committed by the Nepali Army.[12][13] This film was later banned in Nepal by the military and criticised for empathising with Maoists.[12][14]

In 2014, Rai appeared in the comedy Jholay, in which he portrays a man who visits Kathmandu to go to a foreign country to find work.[15] His performance received positive feedback from critics.[15] He also starred in Ram Babu Gurung's comedy-drama Kabaddi and Nischal Basnet's crime drama Talakjung vs Tulke. He received widespread critical acclaim for his performance in both films.[16][17][18] Talakjung vs Tulke was selected as the Nepalese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[19][20] In 2015, Rai won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sambodhan.[21] That same year, he starred in Kabaddi Kabaddi, the sequel to Kabaddi.[22] This film became one of Nepali cinema's highest-grossing films,[22] and Rai won the National Film Award for Best Actor.[4]

In 2016, Rai appeared in the war drama White Sun, in which he portrays Chandra, an anti-regime partisan Maoist who returns to his village for his father's funeral.[23][24] The film was selected as the Nepali entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[25] In 2017, Rai starred in Loot 2, the sequel to Loot.[26] This film received mixed feedback from critics and audiences but was a commercial success at the box office.[27] In the film Ghampani, Rai played Furba, a Tamang boy who has an inter-caste marriage with a Brahmin girl.[28][29] In Taandro, he plays Koshish, a member of an underground Maoist party that is trying to overthrow the Government of Nepal.[30] Rai was praised for his portrayal.[30][31]

In 2019, Rai appeared in a supporting role in Saili, for which he won the Kamana Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[32] The same year, he starred in Jatrai Jatra as a don, and his performance was praised by the critics.[33][34] Later he appeared in the third installment of the Kabaddi series, Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi, which was commercially successful.[35][36] It grossed 14.7 million Nepalese rupees on its first day of screening, setting the record for the highest-grossing opening of a film in Nepal.[37] In 2020, Rai starred in the comedy-drama Senti Virus, which was pulled from cinema halls after three weeks of screening due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal.[38] Apart from acting, Rai produced Machha Machha in 2019.[39]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Kattel, Mukunda Raj (25 May 2020). "In Memory Of Madan Bhandari". The Rising Nepal. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Dayahang Rai: Red Panda Network Conservation Ambassador" (PDF). Red Panda Network. 17 September 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Aryal, Timothy (7 February 2020). "The Nepali film industry has lights, camera, action—but no substance". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  9. ^ Dixit, Abhimanyu (21 December 2019). "Nine trends that defined Nepali films in the past decade". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Rapold, Nicolas (25 April 2013). "Riders Scaling Their Own Everests (Published 2013)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  12. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Rana, Trishna (2013). "Arms and the men". Nepali Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. ^ "How successful have Nepali filmmakers been with the historical genre?". Online Khabar. 28 April 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  15. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  17. ^ "Taking the big prize home National Film Awards 2015". Republica. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  18. ^ "2072: The year of comedies and performance-driven characters". Online Khabar. 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  19. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (15 September 2015). "Oscars: Nepal Selects 'Talakjung vs Tulke' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  20. ^ "Talakjung Vs Tulke chosen for Oscars". The Himalayan Times. 14 September 2015. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  21. ^ "'Kabbadi' bags National Awards". The Kathmandu Post. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  22. ^ a b "Kabaddi Kabaddi sees good opening Earns 1.3 cr in two days". The Himalayan Times. 30 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference :11 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Abele, Robert (28 September 2017). "Review: Cultural and generational divides tear at village in riveting Nepalese drama 'White Sun'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  25. ^ "Oscars: Nepal Selects 'White Sun' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. 21 August 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Loot 2 belongs to Saugat". The Himalayan Times. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Loot soars at Box Office despite mixed reviews". The Kathmandu Post. 2 March 2017. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Entertaining Ghampani". The Himalayan Times. 15 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  29. ^ "Ghampani collects Rs 12 m in 3 days". Republica. 17 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  30. ^ a b Pant, Shashwat (13 November 2017). "Taandro movie review: Why Dayahang Rai's fans must watch this masterpiece". Online Khabar. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ "Kamana Awards 2076 concludes with much fanfare". Republica. 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  33. ^ Pyakurel, Diwakar (19 May 2019). "Jatrai Jatra movie review: Comic retelling of life's complex philosophy". Online Khabar. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  34. ^ Bureau, Apex (24 May 2019). "Trying a little too hard". The Annapurna Express. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  35. ^ Pyakurel, Diwakar (22 September 2019). "Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi movie review: With a cliched story, can this well-acted comedy sustain the brand?". Online Khabar. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  36. ^ Dixit, Abhimanyu (28 September 2019). "Did we really need a third Kabaddi movie?". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  37. ^ "कबड्डी ३ ले तोड्यो हालसम्मकै रेकर्ड". Himal Post (in Nepali). 21 September 2019. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  38. ^ Dhakal, Renuka (17 March 2020). "Senti Virus, other films fall prey to virus". The Rising Nepal. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  39. ^ Cite error: The named reference :14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).