While his friends used to play various games with each other, Bharat Regmi, like a curious child, sat by his radio listening to various programmes and songs.
“My friends and family used to be stunned seeing my obsession with radio as I could sit for hours listening to it,” says Regmi.
Born in Gothadi, Palpa, and brought up in Nawalparasi, Regmi came to Kathmandu, with big dreams of being a radio jockey. However, years later, Regmi now is an established editor, colourist and VFX artist, working in the Nepali film and media industries.
Then, how an aspiring radio jockey joined a field completely different from what he had imagined? According to Regmi, there is a long and interesting story.
Frustration leading to fresh dreams
As soon as he finished school, Regmi came to the capital to fulfil his childhood dream of being a radio jockey. While he enrolled himself at a college in Kathmandu, he was also taking voice tests side by side at various radio stations.
He even passed one conducted by Radio Nepal.
But, things were not as easy as he had imagined. “Even after passing the voice test, I didn’t secure a job there,” says Regmi. Unlike today, technology was not advanced, due to which resources and opportunities were not in abundance.
Regmi even tried his hands in other radio stations. But anywhere he went, all he got was ‘no’ as an answer.
And, this moved him as all he had dreamt through his life was becoming a radio jockey.
However, it also opened a new door of opportunity for him: he found himself attracted to the world of multimedia.
“Studying at Ratna Rajya Campus, I found about a multimedia course that was getting introduced in the college,” Regmi recalls, “Back then, Pentasoft, an Indian company, had come to Nepal to introduce the course for the first time. I got attracted to it as I was obsessed to make a career in media.”
That moment became a turning point for Regmi, as his interest in radio changed towards that in multimedia once he started learning the art of editing, graphics, and 3D animation from experts from India.
Early days of career
After completing the course and getting certified by Pentasoft, Regmi bagged his first project with Deepak Bajracharya, one of the leading pop singers of the country.
He worked for free for the star. “But, I don’t have regrets; all I wanted was an opportunity through which I could show my talent,” says Regmi.
His career then moved swiftly as he immediately found a job at Channel Nepal. Back then, he was only paid Rs 5,000 a month. Since he was financially dependent on his parents, it did not matter much but an urge to be independent and earn one’s own income also came to his mind.
While working at Channel Nepal, he got introduced to Simosh Sunwar, one of the leading video editors and a filmmaker. That was when Regmi also decided to take a big risk of leaving a stable job and work with Sunwar even when he would not receive as much money as he was getting. Nonetheless, it did not trouble him because he was motivated to work more and be better at his craft, he says.
“Many questioned my decision to leave my stable job at Channel Nepal. However, I decided to quit as I wasn’t finding my job creative and fulfilling enough,” says Regmi. “That’s why I decided to leave the job and started working with Simos Sunwar, due to which I got the opportunity to work with many people and showcase the talent I had.”.
At a time, when the media was just growing, Regmi kept himself motivated and started working on various projects. He even landed a job at Kantipur Television, where he got an opportunity to work under the guidance of big names of the industry such as Bhusan Dahal. Regmi says Dahal also played a major role in shaping his career.
Editing colours to make life colourful
Meanwhile, he also kept on collaborating with Sunwar. In course, he received an opportunity to edit the classical hit song, ‘Ma Hu Prakriti’, which opened many possibilities of work to him, making him one of the renowned editors within a span of a few years.
“I believe the song was a turning point in my career as I have never looked back after I edited it,” says Regmi, who has also edited other hit songs like Banma Phulyo Phul, Gurans Phulyo, Baanchunjellai, and so on.
Meanwhile, Regmi has contributed to the development of editing, colour grading and VFX in the Nepali cinema industry.
Also with that came various awards and accolades. In 2013, he won the Best Music Video Editor Award at Bindhyabasini Awards for his song, ‘Ma Paglanchhu’ whereas, in 2018, he won the Best Pop-music Music Video Editor Award at the Music Video Awards and Best Editor award for his movie Kollywood in 2014.
After working with Kantipur Television for 14 years, Regmi now has opened his own production house. “After gaining years of experience, I am going to invest all of my energy in my own production house. I have also ventured into direction starting with television commercials,” says Regmi, who is also busy in the post-production works of Pardeshi 2.
As an artist, Regmi’s expertise, however, is not just limited to editing. He is also a talented colourist and a VFX artist and has worked on the biggest projects and films in the country.
While he might not have been able to make a career in radio and television through his voice, he indeed has been successful in becoming a visual digital artist, a path he clearly enjoys, without any regret. He says, “Discounting the early days, I am economically stable now. From what I thought about how I wanted to pursue my career, I am satisfied with how it panned out.”
According to Regmi, the future in the multimedia field is brighter because of advanced technologies. However, for aspiring multimedia enthusiasts, he suggests having patience and working hard with full sincerity.
