Bruce Dern to appear in ‘The World’s Happiest Man’

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 10:Two-time Oscar-nominated Hollywood actor Bruce Dern is set to appear in Binod Paudel’s latest film titled ‘Bhuthan’ in Nepali and ‘The World’s Happiest Man’ in English.

Dern will share the screen with Nepali actors Dayahang Rai and Hari Bansha Acharya.

Dern, nominated for Oscars for ‘Coming Home’ (1979) and ‘Nebraska’ (2013), won the Best Actor award at Cannes for the latter.

The film shall also feature Anuradha Majumdar, Puja Chand-Lama, Richa Ghimire, Joes Pandey, Aditi Pyakurel, Tom Krane and Bimal Subedi. 

Rajendra Thakurathi, who has been involved in over 50 Hollywood projects including ‘Onward,’ ‘Smash-hit Barbarian,’ and the ‘Detective Knight’ series, is on board as a producer. 

‘The World’s Happiest Man,’ previously selected for the Busan Film Festival in 2019, narrates the struggles of Bhutanese refugees in the US who initially sought refuge in India and later resided in Nepal for several years.

 The film, set to be shot in Akron, Ohio and surrounding towns, will be produced in both Nepali and English languages, with a completion target of 2024 and a release scheduled for 2025.

Susan Prajatai will direct the cinematography, and Anjan Khadka serves as the editor. 

Star Zhao, the Oscar-winning director of ‘La La Land’ (2017), serves as an associate producer, as stated in an earlier press release.

In addition to Thakurathi, other primary producers are Amitabh Joshi and Abeeral Thapa, with L.N. Adhikari and Kaushila Khanal Karmacharya as executive producers.

 The film is a collaborative effort between America’s Mad Monkey Films and Dog Eared Fixture, and Nepal’s Awaken Production.

 'The World's Happiest Man' participated in the 2019 Busan Asian Project Market under the title ‘Akron International.’

Director Paudel is a Nepali filmmaker renowned for his critically acclaimed works. His film ‘Bulbul’ was selected as Nepal’s official entry in the international category at the Oscars in 2019.

 Additionally, he secured the Best Director accolade at Nepal’s National Film Awards, following a previous win for Best Screenplay for ‘Saanghuro’ in 2013.