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Kedar Ghimire, popularly known among the Nepali public as ‘Magne Budha,’ is the lead actor in the upcoming comedy film Magne Raja, slated for release on Bhadra 6. Throughout his long acting career, he has never been involved in any controversy.
His colleague Dhurmus (Sitaram Kattel) faced controversy over the construction of a cricket stadium in Chitwan. Despite being consistently involved in almost every film produced under Deepak–Deepa’s leadership, including the Chhakka Panja series, Ghimire had never faced criticism.
However, he was recently dragged into controversy after Magne Raja’s producer, Munal Ghimire, claimed that Kedar Ghimire had received a staggering 6.1 million rupees as remuneration for the film. Since then, Ghimire has been repeatedly offering clarifications. In various media outlets and interviews, he has denied the allegation.
In a recent public event, he stated that if it is proven he received 6.1 million rupees, he would return the entire amount. He claimed the producer made that statement solely for publicity. So shaken was he that in an online interview, he even accused the film’s producer, director, and writer of conspiring to frame him.
How did it come to this? What was gained? What was lost?
He is currently facing criticism for allegedly resorting to cheap publicity tactics to promote the film. There are accusations that he resorted to lies just to make the film successful. Clearly, this publicity seems to have harmed rather than helped him.
Given his tendency to post satirical statuses on various social and political matters, this time the question raised is more about his morality. Many are asking: if he can demand a high fee, why didn’t he reject such low-level publicity? Does accepting money make everything justifiable?
Though he initially appeared to enjoy the attention, Kedar seemed alarmed once criticism grew, and only then began denying the claim. If the backlash hadn’t intensified, he likely would have remained silent. His recent statements seem like a course correction. Even if it came late, it should be seen positively. Hopefully, this incident will serve as a lesson for him and other artists—that an artist’s value lies not in remuneration, but in the art they deliver.
Seeking gimmicks to make a film successful is an old habit among Nepali filmmakers. Believing a gimmick alone can make a film successful is a sign of poor thinking. The trend of making films solely based on popular faces has led to such situations.
Recently, actors’ remuneration has been rising rapidly, which has caused growing concern among producers. Veteran producer Chhabi Ojha has also stated that high actor fees have made it difficult to pursue new films. Despite being a producer who can make quality films with modest budgets, actors are reportedly not even willing to listen to scripts.
Producers, fearing “if I don’t take this actor, someone else will,” are agreeing to pay the high prices demanded by actors. Their approach of relying on distribution, digital platforms, and diaspora investors by selling “faces” rather than content has also pushed fees to unreasonable levels. They’re unwilling to take risks with new actors.
Nowadays, the amount of remuneration has become a higher priority than the film itself. One producer commented that in order to save cinema, actors now need to work on a share basis, and that he is working toward that. But unfortunately, for his own new film, he reportedly paid over 5 million rupees to an actor.
These days, as soon as a film becomes successful—especially if it features a male lead—their fees skyrocket. Leading faces today reportedly won’t work for less than 3 million rupees.
Despite all this, Nepali films haven’t performed well at the box office. By the end of the third month of this year, all films except Unko Sweater have flopped.
The commercial mindset in filmmaking has diminished directors’ strength and eroded their bargaining power with actors. Unless films start succeeding because of directors, this cycle will continue.
In such a context, if actors like Kedar Ghimire become victims of cheap publicity over high fees, it shows how the energy of the Nepali film industry is being wasted on superficial marketing chatter rather than meaningful cinema. The industry needs to break free from this trend.
