UK Clinical Researcher Sirjana Gurung Debuts in ‘Kabaddi 5’

KATHMANDU – Sirjana Gurung, who works in clinical research in Britain, is making her debut in a Nepali feature film with “Kabaddi 5.”

She is no newcomer to the camera. Gurung has appeared in Nepali music videos, on stage and at a range of events. But “Kabaddi 5” carries the legacy of the country’s biggest film franchise, and a lead role in it is both an opportunity and a test for her.

Gurung was selected for the main role through a digital audition. She is now in Nepal to promote the film.

“Kabaddi 5,” the fifth installment of the popular Nepali film series, is preparing for release in Nepal and worldwide from 23th October. Joining characters and a story audiences have already embraced, Gurung says she feels both anticipation and pressure.

“‘Kabaddi 5’ is a film with a legacy. It’s a character audiences have loved from the beginning. As a newcomer, there’s a kind of fear and pressure about how the audience will take it,” she said.

She is waiting to see how audiences respond to her character’s entry into Kaji’s life and what effect her role has on the story.

From a digital audition to a lead role

Gurung was based in Britain but continued to work in Nepali music videos. Her connection to the stage deepened after she won the Miss UK Nepal title in 2017. More recently, she has been working with Nepali organizations and taking part in various events.

Her interest in film acting grew gradually. She had hoped to play a character in a film, she said, but was unsure how such a chance would come.

She sent a digital audition to the production company Bansuri Films, and was selected for a role in “Kabaddi 5” on the strength of it. Director Rambabu Gurung then contacted her.

Understanding a young woman from Mustang

In “Kabaddi 5,” Gurung plays a young Thakali woman from Mustang. She described the character as simple, straightforward and at home in a village setting.

“She has never left Mustang, a true Thakali villager. Very innocent, simple, and does whatever everyone says. In English, she’s a very ‘nice girl,’” Gurung said of her character.

She used the shoot as a chance to learn. During filming in Mustang, the lodge where the crew stayed was home to daughters-in-law and younger sisters. Gurung observed their mannerisms, their way of speaking and how they treated guests. She also read material about the Thakali community online.

“I was observing everything – learning from them, learning their mannerisms, how they speak to guests who come to their home,” she said. “I tried to do what I could.”

Life between Nepal and Britain

Gurung was born in Hong Kong. She studied in Nepal from nursery to Grade 3, then moved to Brunei, where her father was serving in the British Army. The family later moved to London, and she continued to travel back and forth to Nepal.

She completed her study of biomedical science in Britain while working in clinical research. She describes the work as drug-related, concerning the process a medicine goes through before it is used in the community.

Asked whether she will pursue acting, Gurung said she has not decided.

“Honestly, I don’t have anything fixed right now. I want to first see what kind of response comes from critics and audiences,” she said.

She said she hopes audiences will enjoy the film again this time, noting that the established characters have matured by the fifth installment. Whether “Kabaddi 5” marks the start of a longer acting career or a single appearance, she said, is a question she cannot yet answer. She wants to see how audiences receive her first film before deciding.