movie review of jaari

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Based on the love story of the Limbu community and will show the struggle of a man to bring back his wife. Based on the love story of the Limbu community and will show the struggle of a man to bring back his wife. Based on the love story of the Limbu community and will show the struggle of a man to bring back his wife.

• Upendra Subba
• Dayahang Rai
• Miruna Magar
• Bijay Baral
• 8 User reviews

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

User reviews 8

• ejrod-35783
• Jul 28, 2023
• How long is Jaari? Powered by Alexa
• April 14, 2023 (Nepal)
• Official YouTube
• Basuri Films
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 5 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

• Culture & Lifestyle

• Madhesh Province
• Lumbini Province
• Bagmati Province
• National Security
• Koshi Province
• Gandaki Province
• Karnali Province
• Sudurpaschim Province
• International Sports
• Brunch with the Post
• Life & Style
• Entertainment
• Investigations
• Climate & Environment
• Science & Technology
• Visual Stories
• Crosswords & Sudoku
• Corrections
• Letters to the Editor
• Today's ePaper

Without Fear or Favour UNWIND IN STYLE

What's News :

• Lingering Covid
• Probe against home minister
• Koshi flood survivors
• By-elections fervour
• Kathmandu metropolis

‘Jaari’ could’ve been so much more. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t

Urza Acharya

The year is 1995. The setting is a picturesque village in Panchthar. The mountains shine through in the background, and the lakes glisten. And in the middle of everything, Dayahang Rai is angry. To be more specific, his character Namsang is. That’s Jaari—an angry man with his angry (but mostly crying) wife.

Okay, maybe I’m being too harsh. Let’s not trivialise the film to that extent. It is not a bad film. In fact, it’s possibly one of the most well-made films in a long time. But still, Jaari could’ve been so much more. It’s unfortunate that it wasn’t.

Here’s the premise. Dayahang Rai plays the angry Namsang, the son of a well-off family. He is married to Hangma (played by Miruna Magar), a daughter of a Subba (historically a post given to Limbu village chiefs). The very beginning of the movie starts with a fight between the two. After rebukes from both sides, a slap and an ‘almost-kick’ sends Hangma back to her maita (a term for a married woman’s childhood home) . She eventually meets and runs away with another man, but as her family is unable to pay jaari —a sum paid to the previous husband as compensation for his wife’s elopement—she comes back again, this time as a maid cum slave.

Let’s talk about the good things first. The camera work and the colours are stunning—each still feels like a nostalgic reflection of Nepali village life; the houses, the bundles of corn hung on the roof, and the nearby pipal bot. Cinematographer Shailendra D Karki and colourist Arjun Karki have done justice to the sublime beauty of Nepal’s hilly scapes.

The sound and the music are what make the film. Finally, a Nepali film with sound that actually merges with the visuals and doesn’t feel like crappily dubbed audio. From the ambient sounds—the cows mooing, the gagri (water pot) falling on the floor to the dialogues, everything fits in place, leaving a seamless visual-aural experience. The traditional palam (sung by Tirsana) in the movie is deeply moving. Other songs are good too.

It is also imperative to acknowledge that Jaari is an important film. It moves away from the normative Bramhinical narrative to tell a story of a different culture and tradition within Nepal. The mainstream media, be it films, news, or music, has always been a gatekeeper of indigenous culture, knowledge and forms. This has manifested mainly in cinema via complete erasure or tokenisation (that too is based on harmful stereotypes).

Jaari takes back control of the narrative because director Subba ensures that the Limbu way of life is accurately portrayed, documented, appreciated and perhaps even romanticised (just the right amount). The film is a window into Limbu culture—its unique practices, from singing palam to deriving lore and inspirations from the Mundhum (religious scripture).

What struck me the most was how much the women in that film worked. I’m not kidding. There isn’t a single frame in the movie where a woman—Hangma, her mother, and her mother-in-law isn’t working. They’re either cooking or cleaning or fetching water or cutting grass or making alcohol or feeding the cattle. The list is long. It was almost comical to see how Hangma’s role in the household—from daughter-in-law to maid was almost the same, the only difference was that her room was worse than before.

The movie, intentionally or unintentionally, draws attention to the daily and intense physical labour that village women perform. It shows how exhausting a woman’s life can be—the idea of rest or recreation is a distant dream. In one particular scene, Hangma goes to a neighbour to ask for starter alcohol. As the woman goes to get it, she instinctively reaches out to complete the work left behind—gently spreading the corn kernels laid out in the sun. I mean, just how pervasive is this internalised ‘labour as worth’ idea in Nepali women (and the overall society)?

Okay, now the not-so-good things. Though the film is culturally rich and ethnically sensitive, it fails the characters in the story—especially its women. Dayahang Rai’s character is so angered and cruel that it is hard to root for him, even when he is wronged. The men in the story are mostly just angry and then violent. The khukuri should’ve been added as a cast member considering how often it appears on the screen. Namsang is void of any rationality or sympathy. It is only in the end that one feels cathartic towards Namsang. But by then, it’s too late.

The second husband, played by Roy, is basically just a plot device for the conflict to move forward; his role is severely overlooked. Miruna Magar’s Hangma is well-acted, but one can help but notice she’s restricted by the story. Hangma is a passive pawn moving in the whims of the men around her—her father, husband or brother. The connection and attachment between Namsang and Hangma aren’t built enough for us to root for them or their love.

Jaari could’ve been a lot of things. It could’ve and should’ve given Hangma more depth and autonomy. It should’ve challenged that status quo not only through an indigenous perspective but also via gender and non-patriarchal lens. But the story was surprisingly (and disappointingly) run-of-the-mill. That is Jaari’s one true weakness.

Language: Nepali

Duration: 2 hours 1 minute

Director: Upendra Subba

Cast: Dayahang Rai, Miruna Magar, Prem Subba, Bijay Baral, Roy

Released: April 14

Now showing: One cinemas, QFX cinemas 

Urza Acharya Acharya is an aspiring writer interested in arts, literature and cinema. Currently, she works as the media coordinator at Siddhartha Art Gallery.

Related News

A film that fails to execute the slice-of-life formula

A classic tragicomedy

Winners announced at NEUFF closing ceremony

A cinematic salute to the Gurkha soldiers

‘Agastya’ isn’t your average action movie

Who is the monster?

Most read from movies.

Editor's Picks

Rabi’s Freudian slip

‘Worry’ as Nepal’s forex reserves soar to record Rs1.84 trillion

Tracking chip now mandatory for Everest aspirants

Rural women deprived of reproductive health rights

Indian travellers can now scan and pay in Nepal

E-paper | april 04, 2024.

• Read ePaper Online

Letterboxd — Your life in film

Forgotten username or password ?

• Start a new list…
• Add all films to a list…
• Add all films to watchlist

Add to your films…

Press Tab to complete, Enter to create

A moderator has locked this field.

Add to lists

Where to watch

2023 Directed by Upendra Subba

The central characters of Jaari are Namsang(Dayahang Rai) and Hangma(Miruna Magar), a married Limbu couple. After a brief argument with her spouse Namsang, Hangma chooses to leave him by giving back his Yuparung (a sacred coin). She then marries a different man after falling in love with him. The jaari is claimed by Namsang and his family, but Hangma's family refuses to pay, forcing Hangma into slavery in Namsang's household until the jaari is paid.

Dayahang Rai Miruna Magar Bijay Baral Nabin Luhagun

Director Director

Upendra Subba

Producer Producer

Ram Babu Gurung

Writer Writer

Drama Family Romance

Releases by Date

14 apr 2023, releases by country.

127 mins   More at TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Tshering Tamang

Mainstream cinema should always aspire to bring forth the stories of the minority. Watching this with a room filled with the people of limbu community was a very joyous experience. The fact that they were laughing, crying, smiling and even singing seeing their culture being represented on the big screen was truly a beautiful movie going experience. Entire families coming together, different generations, some even wearing their traditional attire. Simply lovely.

Review by SaugatStuff ★ 5

Women gets treated like shit for like the entire movie and suddenly they are in love after a song?

Review by ja01931 ★★★

Bro won his wife back thru a rap battle 🗣💯

Review by Samip Poudel ★★★

After seeing a beautiful teaser, I went in with slightly high hopes. Jaari could have been so much more, but every time the story tries to get into deeper themes, we are immediately pulled back to a generic Nepali-comedy film.

Review by Bipul Kunwar ★★★★

i too would be ready to die for miruna magar

Review by noor ★★½ 1

dayahang rai is the same character he is in all his movies, yet again.

Review by 0spicetolerance ★★★★

Jaari is a good film. The effort put into it resonates so well, bringing forward a culture with attention to details meanwhile not letting the culture be the only foreground. there's conflict, drama and humor. I got to see a glimpse of my roots in Jaari. I also laughed and honored the decisions a fictional character Hangma made decades ago.

Review by pawan85 ★★★½

This is quite a unique Nepali movie dealing with Limbu culture in Nepal esp this Jaari custom which is regarding marriage whereby a coin is given by the bride to groom. This movie is basically a love story between two people and the up and downs faced by them. The acting was really good, the production design and cinematography was great as well along with writing. I really enjoyed this movie.

Review by Aayushman ★★ 2

Literally story gets stuck at one point and the second half of the movie is literally boring asf

Review by cherie ★★★★

this is good

Review by joe_doe ★★★

If I wanted to watch a story with good pictures, I would love to watch Anmol KC's TikTok. For Nepali cinema, I must say it was a good film must Nepali film does not tell the story properly with dialogues, dance, song and all but this film did not try those. They just told the story and that is it. It was boring and monotonous, it also did represent Nepali community, it has no dialogues at all, it also has good poetry to communicate. To concise, a must-watch Nepali film but not a must-watch film.

फूलबुट्टे रुमाल लिनुहोस् है, रिसानी माफ दिनुहोस् है । ए हे हा आ हा मा हा ।

Select your preferred poster