Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nirupam Dhakal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Nirupam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

Growing up in Nepal, you just aren’t exposed to many things. As a kid, you’re so stuck in your bubble and your own world that you don’t realize there’s a whole vista out there. I love my parents because they always made me aware of things around me.

I love movies and that’s what I do, I’m a filmmaker and it just wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for my parents, especially my mother. Every Saturday, four of us: my parents, my sister, and I would get together and watch films. And these films were horror films of many languages. This sort of planted the seed of loving movies in me and I’d actively seek out other films of different genres or languages and they always encouraged me. And I think that helped me grow creatively.

Also in South Asian countries, you’re not encouraged to be creative. There’s a fixed path for you, a focused goal, and things like moviemaking or being a songwriter, etc. are considered a distraction from that fixed path. For me, it was different because my parents always encouraged my creative side. If I was writing short stories, they were my loudest supporters and I think that also helped me thrive. I wasn’t a sports kid and they never complained. They were content with me being me.

I don’t think where I’d be without them because they’re the ones who helped me move to the US and pursue this dream and nurtured that dream. So yeah, they did do things right, They impacted my life and career by being open and encouraging and supportive and honestly, that’s all you need from your parents. The support and love.

Nirupam, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I love making people react. Whether it be shock or laughter, I love seeing people have a reaction to me and my work, I am a filmmaker and an aspiring artist. I don’t know if I’ll label myself as a comedian but like I said I love making people laugh and wouldn’t be opposed to exploring that professionally.

As I’ve said before, film was a bonding moment for my family and me. We would watch films, talk about them, discuss them, and then watch another one. It was just a thing I looked forward to a lot. And then eventually I figured that these films are making me react to them, and maybe I can do the same. So I started writing. I’d write short stories, novellas, and poems and I’d give them to my aunties to read and would watch them read them so I could see how they reacted to them. Just that flicker of smile or disgust was enough to get me going.

Eventually, it didn’t take me long to realize this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to write, bring my stories to life and have people watch them. And a few years later, I moved to the US and I can proudly say that that is what I do.

The introduction of TikTok has also changed my life. Growing up, I was told I am unfunny and uninteresting by a lot of people, and that sort of created this false narrative in my head about myself. With TikTok, I’ve found an audience, a chunk of people who want to hear what I have to say, who think I’m funny. and that has created a deeper understanding of me within me. Making people react with laughter, I love doing that and just making these silly videos has encouraged me that that direction would also be a viable one for me.

Overall, I am an artist, I love creating things and sharing them with the world. And that is what I’m most proud of. To have that tangible thing that’s uniquely you and with that, you can have an impact on the world. It means something even if it’s a small dent.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

People say “be authentic” and it sounds like a cliché but it’s true. If you show your true self, if you’re authentic without a fake facade or bullshit, then people will connect to you. That’s what happened to me.

I would make a lot of videos on TikTok during my early days and I wouldn’t get an audience. I realized I was being inauthentic, I wasn’t being true to myself, and I was chasing this trend of whatever everyone else was doing. And then I started making videos I wanted to make and lo and behold, I started gaining momentum. I was growing. People wanted to listen to what I had to say and they engaged with it.

That would my biggest advice. Be interesting, be you, and be entertaining and the audience will follow. Make content that YOU want to see.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I have a lot of projects lined up. Some are deeply personal to me and some are just fun. I am hoping I can go into production for any of these this year and that’s my immediate goal for now. I mean yes, the long-term goal would be to keep on making things and have people resonate with me, to become an established filmmaker but for now, I am focusing on the closer, smaller goals. Accumulate these smaller successes and turn them into bigger ones.

One very interesting thing I’m working towards is representation. I want to tell stories of people that look like me or are part of the larger community I belong to. I want to make things that add to the conversation or give people the opportunity to identify themselves in that story. That is an incredibly important mission for me. Inclusivity, Giving people what I lacked growing up. Representation.

I’m currently working on a film about a south Asian family and their relationship with each other and how certain factors of society can influence that bond and relationship. I have another thing I’m writing which is a Nepalese coming-of-age story and a horror slasher film that puts queer people and people of color front and center. Maybe in a year or so, you’ll see one of these projects on the big screen.

Contact Info:

• Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hugeasmammoth.films?lang=en
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hugeasmammoth/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirupam-dhakal-77761a173/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hugeasmammoth_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpC69_NkZTRI45u-0VvWwWw

Image Credits
Stils from my films. My photo was taken by Nicolas Danoviz.