Personal details
- Birth Date: 1978-08-29
- Birth Location: Saptary, Nepal
- Professions: Producer, Writer, Director
Deepak Rauniyar’s journey into filmmaking pretty much shattered any quiet expectations people might’ve had about Nepali cinema. “Highway” (2012) wasn’t just his first feature—it bulldozed right onto the global stage, snagging a premiere at Berlinale. Nepal at Berlinale! Wild, right? That buzz didn’t die down, either; the film kept rolling, making a stop at Locarno, and basically announcing, “Hey, Nepal makes movies too, and they’re worth your time.” Then came “White Sun” (2016), and Rauniyar didn’t just repeat his debut’s success—he leveled up. The film crashed the Venice Orizzonti competition, and suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of it. Over a hundred film festivals—Toronto, Rotterdam, Sydney, Golden Horse, you name it—had “White Sun” on their screens. Not just as a token, but as one of the actual standouts. The awards started piling up: Interfilm Award at Venice, Best Film nods in Singapore and Palm Springs. Even Nepal’s official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Language Film that year? “White Sun.” Critics? Oh, they swooned. The Hollywood Reporter called it “impressively accomplished,” which, coming from them, isn’t nothing. The New York Times went so far as to stick Rauniyar on their “9 New Directors to Watch” list. And they nailed it—the film really does show you a side of the world you hardly ever catch on screen. Rauniyar, with just two films, managed to shove Nepali cinema right into the international spotlight. Not bad for a country most people couldn’t find on a map.
Highway pulled off something wild back in 2012—it managed to smash its way into the Berlin International Film Festival, which, honestly, is kind of a big deal for Nepali cinema. Before that, Nepali films basically didn’t exist on the global festival map, so this was like someone showing up to a black-tie event in ripped jeans and suddenly everyone’s talking about them. The movie itself dives into the chaos and messiness of life in Nepal, especially during those endless strikes (bandhs, if you know, you know). You get a bunch of strangers stuck on a bus, each with their own baggage—sometimes literal, mostly emotional. Their stories tangle up in ways that are awkward, funny, and sometimes just plain heartbreaking. It’s gritty, sometimes raw, and definitely not the polished, shiny stuff you’d expect from Bollywood. It’s just so… real. Highway didn’t just open doors for Nepali filmmakers; it kicked a freaking hole in the wall.
August 29, 1978
Konidela Ram Charan
Saptary, Nepal
46 years old