"Laalibazar" Releases New Poster Featuring Swastima Khadka Alongside Debutant Actor Bishal Devkota

Kathmandu — With its release date of Baisakh 18 drawing closer, the team behind Laalibazar has unveiled a fresh new poster featuring lead actress Swastima Khadka alongside debutant actor Bishal Devkota, presenting the two as an on-screen pair for the first time.

For Bishal, the poster represents a significant milestone. The young actor, who has built his reputation on the Nepali theater circuit as both a performer and director, earned his spot in Laalibazar entirely on merit, having gone through a competitive audition process. Production company Shatkon Arts confirmed that it was Bishal's undeniable acting talent that secured him not just a role in the film, but the opportunity to share the screen with one of Nepal's most respected actresses in his very first film appearance.

Bishal's journey to the big screen is one worth following. Having harbored dreams of becoming an artist from a young age, he immersed himself in theater as his training ground, building skills and experience that many screen actors simply do not have. The turning point came when the Laalibazar team noticed his performance in the play Mira, staged at Kantipur Theatre. That performance caught their attention, and after clearing multiple rounds of auditions, he was selected for the film.

"Theater opened the door to film for me," Bishal has said, reflecting on how his stage experience became the bridge to the big screen.

His is a story that speaks to the value of craft over connections, and of the stage as a genuine training ground for screen performance — a pathway that is perhaps underappreciated in Nepal's film industry.

Laalibazar is a social drama directed by Yam Thapa, who also wrote the story. The screenplay and dialogues were co-developed by director Thapa and Pradip Bhattarai. Filmed in Rajapur, Bardiya, the film stars Swastima Khadka, Bishal Devkota, Rabindra Singh Baniya, Samaira Thapa, Mukunda Kumar Shrestha, Abhay Baral, Prem Pande, Asha Poudel, Govinda Sunar, Aabha Aryal, Tara Sharma, Ramesh Badi, Saraswati Adhikari, Janaki Kathayat, Nishchal Panthi, and Birbal Chaudhary, among others.

The film is produced by Max Dipesh Khatri and Rabindra Singh Baniya, with Pradip Bhattarai as executive producer, and is presented by Shatkona Arts.