Chetan Karki, rich in extraordinary talent

Written by Suman Bairagi

Film writer and director Chetan Karki passed away. He died while undergoing treatment at the army hospital in the cantonment. Karki was 84 years old. Karki, who went to Dehradun in India, was suspected to have been infected with the corona virus while returning to Nepal. Wali said that on March 31, Karki went to Dehradun to arrange household affairs and returned on the 17th via Bhairahawa road. Even though he started living here, he behaved in Dehradun as well. He used to go once a year and returned by way of Bhairahawa.

Who was Chetan Karki?

Karki was born on 22 Kartik 1995 to father Juddhaveer Karki and mother Chandramayan Karki at Arukharka 9 in Syangja and reached Dehradun following his father's job. Chetan Karki's father was a captain in the Indian Army. He went there with his family to educate his children. There he did M. and B.Sc in Hindi literature.

After passing B.Sc in Dehradun, Karki applied for an important job. In the job results, his name appeared in the first number. However, at the time of recruitment, he was rejected by Indians because he was a Nepali. At that time, he said, "Now I will not stay in this country even for a moment and I will go to Nepal and serve Nepal". He returned in 2017.

Radio Nepal job failed

After returning to Nepal, he tried to get a job in Radio Nepal. He went to the Ministry of Education for a job. The then Education Secretary Kulshekhar Sharma gave the promise. However, his insistence did not work in front of Pravin Giri, the nephew of the then Chairman of the Council of Ministers. However, Pravin Giri, the nephew of Tulsi Giri, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was also in this race. Despite excelling in the written exam, he lost the job to Praveen Giri.It is said that the reason behind his loss was that Radio Nepal is a copy of 'Voice of America'.

Director of Fisheries Development

After returning like that, around 2019, he got a job as the manager of the Fisheries Development Center in Pokhara. Thus, after coming to Pokhara, the qualities within him did not allow him to be confined to the office. With his luscious nature, his mandatory presence was seen in most of the cultural, literary and dance programs organized in Pokhara. There was hardly a program when he was not active or sitting on the stage.

Chetan Karki's interest in school and college life was in football. In some interviews he has given, he has said that he is the football captain of Agra University. Similarly, he also said that in 1958, he played for the National Champion of the State of UP.

After this, Karki, who had taken the job of Fisheries Development and Administration Officer, after 2 years was promoted to his junior, submitted his resignation to the then Agriculture Minister Rajeshwar Devkota and took a leave of absence from the job. After leaving horse racing in Rawaf, the head of 'Tal Bikas', he moved to Kathmandu around 2025.

Enter the movie

He was fascinated by folk songs. Since 2017, he has improved his skills in theater writing, management, direction and art combination. The Information Department asked for a writer and screenwriter to make a film called 'Chetana'. He was chosen.

Chetan Karki entered the movie as a screenwriter. Parivartan, directed by Hirasingh Khatri, was the first film to step into cinema. Karki wrote the screenplay for this film titled 'Chetna' which was later released as 'Parivartan'.

With the establishment of Royal Film Institute in 2028, Karki started working as a production officer from which he resigned after working for 10 years. Meanwhile, he also worked as a production officer in the films 'Manko Dam', 'Kumari', 'Sindoor', 'Jiwanrekha' etc. produced by the Shahi Film Institute.

V.No. Only in 2043 he got the responsibility of director. Vishwas was the first film he directed. After that he directed films like 'Bhumri', 'Pahilo Prem' etc. However, he was not as successful as a director as he was as a screenplay and song writer.

Bhumri directed by him was hit by the 2046 movement. The hero of this film was Arjunjung Shahi, but the audience boycotted the film citing his suppression of the 2046 movement. Karki, who was interested in art from a young age, also worked in folk songs and drama.

Buba's famous Jhalakman song

Karki claimed that 'Aatma Beche Ke Chai', which was performed in 2023, was the first play to be performed by cutting tickets. Not only this, Karki has claimed in many interviews that he used the song 'Amale Sodhlin Ni' for the first time in this play, which immortalized Jhalakman Gandharva.

However, he said that he heard this song not from Jhalakman but from his father Durg Bahadur Mizar. On the day when the play was to be staged, Durg Bahadur became restless and sent Jhalak, and this song belonged to Jhalakman forever. After Karki found it difficult to make a living by working only from movies, he also drove a taxi along with studying science at Saint Mary's.

Bought a jeep with the proceeds of the movie

Songwriter Chetan Karki has mentioned in a conversation with the media that he bought a second-hand jeep earned from 'Parivartan' and drove it in Pokhara. ``Guru Hirasingh Khatri will return to India after making his third film, thinking that there is no future in films, so I bought a jeep with the money I got from Parivartan. I drove that jeep to Pokhara through Kathmandu, Raxaul, Muzaffarpur, Gorakhpur and Bhairawa in the year 2025,' he said in the book 'Juxtaposition', which includes a conversation with film director Mohan Rai.

Famous as a songwriter

Although Chetan Karki is not very successful in directing, he is very successful as a lyricist. 'Bahini ko daya chha ke' and Teej's evergreen popular song 'Teez ko lahar ayo warilai' are representative songs that confirm Chetan Karki's lyrical personality. 'Baba didn't come to take it on the day of the year', 'Kalilo Tama Sodh Rama', 'You won't remember me but I will come', 'Kanchi O Kanchi', the birth of a daughter is a lost act', 'That green leaf called green is yellow tobacco', 'Umbo and If you look at that Kalilek Andho Lai No Forest', 'Bujnai Sakinoon Neye Anonko Vaaka', why not the lyrics are enough to reflect Chetan's love for originality.

Singer Chetan Karki

Although he went to Dehradun with his father to study, he did not forget the fascination of Syangjali soil. The songs heard in the village did not stop humming. "The fish says to me, I don't want to eat at all, Chanoute ja says to me, I don't want to go at all!" He sang this song when he was four years old. According to his sister and mother, he was fond of singing since childhood! Ray Karki wondered how I could have sung this piece saying that I have been singing since childhood.

In 1976 and 1980, he has led the Nepali delegation at the International Film Festival twice.

Karki, who has won Chinnalata Award along with Gorkha Dakshinbahu, Subhrajyabhishek Medal, Rajat Mahotsav Medal, was recently only active in songwriting. The song was recorded a few days ago with the investment of Music Nepal in collaboration with Narayan Wali to release the album soon.

Collections of poems and songs written by Karki and many articles, essays and novels are available in the market. He was adept at writing songs, ghazals and poems not only in Nepali language but also in Hindi and Urdu. On a personal note, he was very cheerful and always smiling and joking.

Karki's song collection 'Atma Becheko Noi', 'Hatkelale Serebu Surya Chekinina', 'Ho Desh Mero Phani', 'Basibiyanlo' and 'Maya-Preetiko Chokho Katha' has also been published. Apart from this, his novel 'Honeymoon', short novel 'Dhaleko Gilas' has also been published. He has also published a collection of Hindi poetry 'Kalpana Tut Chuki Hai'.