Movie milestone
Boy from Nepal becomes youngest director
The tiny landlocked Himalayan country of Nepal has notched a Guinness World Record as Saugat Bista became the world’s youngest movie director at the age of seven.
Born in January 2007, Saugat’s full-length directorial debut, Love You Baba, was released on Dec 12, when he was only 7 years and 340 days old.
Nepal’s film wizard has replaced former record-holder Kishan Srikanth of India, who directed a movie, Footpath, in 2006, aged 9.
“I am very happy to get this recognition. It’s a result of my immense interest and passion, and the faith of my parents,” Bista told Xinhua.
According to Saugat, he spent 27 days shooting the movie in different parts of Nepal. When asked about what motivated him, he said he has always been interested in movies and acting, and added that his father was an inspiration.
He said as a director, he has a say on how the film is going be made, how the members of the cast would act and how the theme of the movie would be presented to the audience.
Father’ support
Saugat, who is in Grade 2 at Suryodaya English Boarding School in Kathmandu, is not new in the entertainment world, having done a television commercial at the age of five and having acted in the documentary film Kakhara, and in the feature film Janmabhumi.
Since his directorial debut, he has seriously decided to become a movie director with the support of his father.
“I thought my son was joking when he first told me that he wanted to direct a movie. But when he showed intense interest to become a profes- sional director, I gave him all my support,” said Gajit Bista, Saugat’s father.
The elder Bista is a veteran actor and a respected name in Nepal’s film industry.
Saugat was trained
for weeks by his father and other professionals. His directorial debut, based on an intimate relationship between a motherless child and her father, failed to hit the box office but gave him international recognition.
His elder sister Sangam and uncle Gambhir Bista are also movie personalities.
“Saugat is my youngest child so he receives additional love and attention from all of us, which has made him a bit stubborn,” said Samjhana Pokharel-Bista, Saugat’s mother.
“But this stubbornness has proved to be a blessing. I cannot express my happiness in words,” she said.