Home Film & TV ‘PS Zindagi’: Reconfiguring the Way of Sitcom Watching in Nepal

‘PS Zindagi’: Reconfiguring the Way of Sitcom Watching in Nepal

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The new web-series seeks to change the stereotypes of sitcoms in Nepal

Kathmandu, June 29, 2016: Though the name ‘PS Zindagi’ sounds rather intriguing, decoding it will explain a whole lot about the series. PS Zindagi (PS stands for Post-Seismic) by Musumusu TV is reconfiguring the taste of entertainment through the new and unique initiation of web-only availability of sitcom for the first time in Nepal.

The five energetic and passionate team members representing multi-cultural backgrounds are found to be really dedicated to making a web-series as the best and more of an audience oriented programme bringing a different flavor of entertainment in Nepalese society than those already available through conventional media.

Kavita Srinivasan, who holds dual masters in Architecture and City Planning from MIT, USA has ideated and scripted the show; has done a commendable job as a debutante producer. The series is directed by Utpal Jha, winner of the Best Short Film for his creation ‘Love? Lust? Life?‘ at the SAARC Film Festival (2015), which was also invited to a number of international film festivals in 2015 such as Cannes and Melbourne. Likewise, Rajkumar Pudasaini comes across as the show’s real star with his fluid screen presence. The other Amazing actors include Sujata Koirala and Kalsang Lama, who play a vital role in making the series successful.

The actors in the series Courtesy: PS Zindagi
The actors in the series
Courtesy: PS Zindagi

“We all got connected through theater, which later turned out to be a group in which we felt comfortable to work with,” they said collectively on how they got into a team that created Nepal’s first-and the only web-series of sitcom. “Despite all the challenges that came along aftermath of the earthquake and during the trade embargo, we believed in the team and gave our best efforts to our brainchild, PS Zindagi, to bring out the series in the present shape.”

The sitcom presents the psychology of Nepalese youths on the aftermath of the quake, when aftershocks were frequent and the changes brought about by the quake in their lives and the mental trauma.  It is a fun and self-empowering narrative of the lives of the urban youth.

PS Zindagi is unique and different in a sense that it has covered different ethnic groups breaking the stereotypes widely prevalent in the conventional form of sitcoms in Nepal. There are the characters representing Muslim, Brahmin and Newar culture which has given the flavor of ‘unity in diversity’, as our society generally is. The web-series is more of youth oriented and idea based trying to give different slices of life.

“It has broken down the general trend of entertainment series,” says Utpal, director and also an actor in the series. All the innovative and beautiful art settings were done by Hemant as well as other members who have portrayed the Muslim scenes with different concept; all those settings, walls, background music, tones, etc. have added value to the series.

Rajkumar Pudasaini proudly says that breaking the trend of doing caricature, they have portrayed the self-identity with natural acting and dialogue delivery which is the most catchy and attractive part of the series.

About the audience response so far on YouTube and social media, the team is extremely motivated on getting almost 70% refreshing and positive responses. “It’s interesting to be asked by the audiences for making the show longer and more frequent, available almost every alternate day. It has encouraged us to work enthusiastically,” says Utpal. “Moreover, the rest of the responses, i.e. 30%, are constructive criticisms encouraging us to improve on our work and bring more innovative concepts on presenting the series in the days to come.”

The team has already been successful to win the hearts and minds of the people through the exclusive web-only entertainment series as the concept fits the need of today’s modern priorities and preferences. “Moreover, the project is the portrayal of an original concept as it has been started from the heart with a positive approach and positive spirit in the post-earthquake life in Nepal,” says Kavita. The show is successful in reflecting the natural emotion and psychology of the people after they faced the terrible experience of the tremor and hence has purposefully chosen to visually make the shadow of the time after the quake. Moreover, it has also reflected the swinging mood of the people, positioning and camera movement is all taking into account the psyche of the people.

How PS Zindagi is Different? Why is it a must see?

It is the first Nepali web-series to ever happen in Nepal. It tells a new story in a way never seen. It is purely original and more focused on young people and is a unique initiation in the field of Nepali entertainment which can easily be accessible by each individual through the internet.

‘Do watch PS Zindagi, share it with your friends if you like it. And, provide us with constructive criticisms on our work.’ – PS Zindagi

The series breaks the stereotype by making the dialogue delivery sound more natural, the caricature works are not exaggerated and the languages are not censored, in a way that the series would not have been broadcasted had it been through a conventional media like a Television.

The characters are very relatable to the society. The characters pretty much talk, look and behave the way most of the urban youths can relate to.

The comedy character, Krishna represents how many youths in the city read tabloid newspapers and make their opinion based on information from these sources. It also shows the behavior of the youths in a digital age where the number of Facebook likes counts.

The other good thing is how creatively they have presented the postscripts in the videos. The creativity with which they make you to subscribe the channel is commendable. One can’t resist hitting the subscribe button after watching a single episode from the series.

The approach of technical aspect is different from what normally is done for a TV programme. The effort is clearly seen in their work where they have left no stone unturned to make you feel it like a movie; transition of shots, production quality, sound and color have made the series as much cinematic and authentic as possible.

To show the light-hearted and positive approach, the series is presented in a comedy way to show the inherent hospitality in Nepalese people.

The story is very organic which got germinated at the time of the earthquake last year and grew up to come in the form of a sitcom like this.

‘Subscribe to the channel to not to miss the upcoming episodes and updates about the series, and share our videos so that the target audiences won’t miss it.’ – PS Zindagi

The first episode of the series was broadcasted on 25th April, 2016 to pay tribute to the lives lost in the earthquake last year and mark one year of earthquake in Nepal.

To make Nepalis more proud, the series has been selected for official screening at the International Festival of Digital Series happening on October 2016 in Marseille, France.

This project has formally started the trend of YouTube-only sitcoms in Nepal, which, the youths were feeling missing. May it take the shape of the Game of Thrones in Nepal.

Five of the seven episodes in the series have already been broadcasted in their YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuI2WepSQe_V7G64hKWsvIQ

Furthermore, if you want to support the project and help them bring out the season two of the series, you can contribute financial assistance through crowdfunding at https://www.youcaring.com/musumusu-tv-589221. If you feel it difficult to go through the crowdfunding, you can reach the representatives from the organization personally through the contact number 9801100331 or mail them at musumusuproductions@gmail.com

Photos courtesy: PS Zindagi

By Basanta Kumar Dhakal and Sangita Tiwari