‘Lalibazaar’ enters fourth week strong, nears Rs 10 crore mark

KATHMANDU: Nepali film Lalibazaar, which has been running in cinemas since the 25th of Baisakh (May 8), has now entered its fourth week and continues to show strong performance at the box office, outperforming several new Nepali releases.

The film has secured around 160 shows nationwide in its fourth week.

On its opening day, it had received 180 shows, and despite the passage of time, it continues to enjoy solid audience support.

According to lead actor Rabindra Singh Baniya, the film is now increasingly attracting entire families to theatres.

Speaking during ongoing audience interactions and theatre visits, Baniya said there was an initial perception among viewers that the film might not be suitable for family viewing due to legal issues surrounding it.

This led many to watch it individually at first. However, he noted that once audiences realized it is a family film, the trend shifted significantly.

“Now families are coming together. Just on Thursday, during a theatre visit in Bhaktapur, we met one family of 18 members and another of 17 members. We are now seeing three generations watching the film together, from grandparents to grandchildren,” he said.

For Friday, the film has been allotted around 140 shows across Nepal. According to exhibitors, most shows during the fourth-week weekend are witnessing high occupancy, with several screenings going housefull. Baniya added that the film continues to receive strong love from audiences across the country.

He also stated that his nationwide audience interactions confirmed that viewers feel their time and money have been well spent. The film’s theme—centered on a mother and daughter and the importance of education—has deeply resonated with audiences, he said.

“People have understood the story well. The response has been strong both in Kathmandu and outside the Valley, which shows we are receiving love from across Nepal,” Baniya added.

Directed and written by Yama Thapa, Lalibazaar is widely expected by exhibitors to cross the Rs 10 crore mark. Viewers have praised the film’s storyline, direction, and powerful performances. Many audiences have expressed emotional reactions, saying they were moved to tears and felt a strong connection to the struggles of the mother character.

The strong word-of-mouth response has helped the film maintain momentum even in its third and fourth weeks.

The film features Swastima Khadka, Ravindra Singh Baniya, Samaira Thapa, Mukund Kumar Shrestha, Abhay Baral, Prem Pandey, Asha Paudel, Govinda Sunar, Abha Aryal, Tara Sharma, Ramesh Badi, Saraswati Adhikari, Janaki Kathayat, Nishchal Panthi, Birbal Chaudhary, Kuntal, and others.

It also marks the debut of Bishal Devkota and Prashansa Subedi. Devkota is a theatre-trained actor, while Prashansa is known as a Gen Z actress.

The story and direction are by Yam Thapa, with screenplay and dialogue jointly written by Thapa and director Pradeep Bhattarai.

Pradeep Bhattarai also serves as the executive producer, while Max Deepesh Khatri and Ravindra Singh Baniya are the producers of the film.