Silu is the first film to be made in Nepal Bhasa

Nepal Bhasa

Nepal Bhasa is one of the major languages of Nepal, and is also spoken in India, particularly in Sikkim where it is one of the 11 official languages. Nepal Bhasa is the mother tongue of about 3% of the people in Nepal . It is spoken mainly by the Newars, who chiefly inhabit the towns of the...

. The movie depicts the pain of separation of a couple from Kathmandu after the wife gets kidnapped while on a pilgrimage in the Himalaya, and the sufferings her husband goes through to get her back from her captors.

The musical film

Musical film

The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...

 is based on a ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 in Nepal Bhasa written in the early 19th century which describes a journey to Silu, a sacred lake also known as Gosaikunda

Gosaikunda

Gosaikunda, also spelled Gosainkunda and Gosain Kunda is an alpine freshwateroligotrophic lake in Nepal's Langtang National Park, located at an altitude of above sea level in the Rasuwa District with a surface of...

 located in the Himalaya. There is a belief in Newar

Newar

The Newa , Newār or Newāl) are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.Newas have lived in the Kathmandu...

 society that a husband and wife should not make the trip together as it could result in a misfortune.

Plot

The first part of the movie is about the hero and the heroine falling in love and getting married. Then the story from the song starts. The husband and his friends decide to go on a pilgrimage to Silu. When the wife finds out about the plan, she insists on coming too. He reminds her of the tradition that it is not done, and that it could lead to their separation.

But she tags along with them, and the party reaches Silu. On the return trip, the wife is kidnapped, the husband's friends desert them, and he rescues her with the help of a passing holy man after a big fight.

Cast

Jay Shrestha

Shrestha

Shrēṣṭha ), is a common Newar surname . Shresthas traditionally have been predominantly traders. Since the unification of the country in the 19th century, with the opening up of the rest of the country for trading, Shresthas have migrated and settled down in various trade hubs all over Nepal, and...

 as the husband, Nabina Shrestha as the wife, Madan Krishna Shrestha

Madan Krishna Shrestha

Madan Krishna Shrestha is a Nepalese comedian. Together with Hari Bansha Acharya they form MaHa which has been called "probably the most popular comic duo in Nepal".-Family:...

 and Hari Bansha Acharya

Hari Bansha Acharya

Hari Bangsa Acharya is a Nepalese actor and a comedian. He is one of the most successful and respected comedians in the Nepalese entertainment industry. He is well known for his method acting. He is one of the comedy duo, "MaHa Jodi", the other one being Madan Krishna Shrestha. He also performs...

.

The song

The song "Silu" is one of the Newar seasonal songs and is played during August, when pilgrims usually visit Silu to take part in the ritual bathing festival that climaxes on the full moon

Full moon

Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...

.

According to the song, when the husband and wife reach Silu, the king sends soldiers to take her away and makes her his queen. The depressed husband leaves home and becomes an ascetic. One day, the queen asks that all the ascetics be assembled to give them alms. She spots her husband among them, and slips away with him disguised as a nun.