By Kshyattirya | Founder’s Digital Notebook
I’m looking at the digital ticket on my phone, and my mind does a sharp, cinematic cut-back to the late 90s. And no, I am definitely not posting the QR code here, pata chala, kisi aur ne QR scan karaake, mujhse pehle mero ticket mein entry le li! But behind the joke, there’s an emotion that this “I” hasn’t felt in decades. It’s the feeling of Priority.
Since 2026 began, 103 days have passed as of today. I’ve sat through 6 theatrical releases, 60+ movies on OTT, and 10 series. To most, that’s an obsession; to me, it’s a “slow start.” since Covid But even in a slow year, I am always a consumer, someone catching up to a world that has already seen, rated, and dissected the product.
Wednesday, the count resets to Zero. My mind keeps drifting back to a specific afternoon at Abala Talkies in Bhadrapur. In the 90s, we were used to being the “afterthought.” Reels were physical, scarce, and heavy. Usually, we’d wait months for a movie to trickle down to us. By the time it reached Bhadrapur, the hype was a not a thing, even the hype word was not in fashion😂, and the reel was scratched.
But then in 1998 came Basundhara Bhusal and Shiva Shrestha’s Ishwor. Well, honestly I can not confirm about the release but based on what I heard back then, I am sharing the story.
To Abala Hall: Thank you for that afternoon in 1998, for screening Ishwor on the release day itself, and for making a young guy from Bhadrapur feel proud for that special time.
Somehow, the stars aligned. While every other theater was waiting, Abala Talkies secured the reel for Release Day. I can still smell the heat and the dust of that hall, but that day, it felt like a palace. I remember the sheer, heart-pounding pride of sitting in that chair, knowing that at this very moment, the rest of the country was watching exactly what I was watching. We weren’t at the bottom of the list; for one glorious day, we were the priority. It was a privilege that felt like magic in an era of physical scarcity.
I moved to Kathmandu and watched my sisters get those premiere show passes of Nepali Movies at the BICC building in Baneshwor, long before it was a Parliament House. Again, I was on the outside, watching them hold the “secret” before the world knew it. But now, the digital shift happened, and “Release Day” became a standard, not a miracle.
Recently, Dhurandhar 2 went on an absolute rampage with paid previews, and the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) was agonizing. I watched as viewers, just a day ahead many of moviegoers, reviewers and priviledged people were already living inside the secret. I wished Nepal could have that same “Day Zero” privilege for such a massive epic, but we were left out. It stung. It was that old feeling of waiting for the reel to arrive.
And then, Michael happened in Nepal.
Wednesday, with the Michael paid previews, that cycle finally completes itself.
It’s not just about seeing Michael Jackson’s life through Jaafar Jackson’s eyes. It’s about the fact that for the first time since that afternoon in Bhadrapur, I am a pioneer. I’m not just watching a movie; I’m part of the “Early Access” circle. Seeing a global biopic like Michael as a paid preview in a Nepali theater chain like QFX is the ultimate proof of how far we’ve come. We aren’t just “part of the cycle” anymore; we are leading the sprint.
To QFX: Thank you for bringing these paid previews to Nepal, at least for a global epic like Michael.
I’m going into that hall with the weight of twenty years of waiting behind me. From the heavy metal reels of Ishwor to the digital lightning of Michael, the journey has been long. But as the lights go down, the feeling is exactly the same as it was at Abala Talkies:
The world is still waiting, but I am already there.
Thank you both for bringing these memories back and making me feel that special priority again. Wednesday, the screen belongs to the pioneers.