The Reynoldsburg teen works alongside movie stars in Hollywood and Kathmandu
When she’s not in class on the Reynoldsburg High School Summit campus, Aditi Pyakurel can be found taking photos around town with her old film camera, attending 4-H Club meetings, or starring in films alongside actors from Hollywood and Kathmandu .
The 16-year-old recently finished filming “The Happiest Man in the World,” a film about a Nepali-Bhutanese family in Akron. Pyakurel stars alongside Bruce Dern — who was nominated for an Oscar for 2013’s “Nebraska” — as well as Daihang Rai and Hari Pancha Acharya, two big names in Nepal’s thriving film industry.
In the Nepali-English bilingual film (with subtitles), which is expected to be released late this year, Pyakurel plays the youngest in a three-generation family whose members sometimes struggle to communicate with each other. The character Gungun, played by Pyakurel, has a grandfather who grew up in Bhutan before being expelled by the government. Jungon’s father came of age in a refugee camp in Nepal and arrived in the United States as an adult. Meanwhile, Gongwon was born in the United States and is steeped in American culture.
“(Gongone) is an American, and she’s kind of coming to terms with … two identities and where that puts her in the world,” Piacoril explained one afternoon after school, sitting in her family’s living room in a quiet Reynoldsburg neighborhood.
Pyakurel’s family history mirrors her character’s history: she was born in a refugee camp in Nepal, but moved to the United States with her family when she was a young child. She also lives in a family of three generations.
But Piacoril said that her character’s rebellious personality was very different from hers, and that she was not sure they would be friends in real life.
“She seemed like a really cool person… and I couldn’t work up the courage to talk to her,” Piacoril said with a laugh.
The Happiest Man in the World tells the story of Nepali-Bhutanese Americans
Binod Paudel, who wrote and directed the film, described The Happiest Man in the World as “surreal” and did not want to reveal too much about the plot in an interview with The Dispatch. He said the film is now in post-production, and he hopes to distribute it through film festivals and in theaters across the United States, Europe and Nepal.
“It tells the story of this (Nepali-Bhutanese) community, but at the same time it is a very universal story — it is a relatable immigrant story,” Paudel said in Nepali.
Nepalese-Bhutanese began resettling in the United States in 2007 under the US Refugee Admissions Program, after they were expelled by the Bhutanese monarchy and spent decades in camps in Nepal. Today, Greater Columbus is home to about 30,000 Nepalese Americans from Bhutan, the largest community of its kind in the United States, according to the local nonprofit Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio.
Piyakurel’s father, Bhawan, a Reynoldsburg City Council member, appears in the film for two minutes as he gives voice to the history of oppression in the community.
Bhuwan hopes the film will provide viewers with an alternative perspective to the official narrative of Bhutan as a kingdom that prioritizes “gross national happiness” and environmental values.
“I think the perspective that Bhutan has been spreading will start to crack, as people start to look at the other side,” he told the Dispatch.
Paudel chose to shoot in Akron, which, like Greater Columbus, also has a large Nepali community from Bhutan, partly due to its Rust Belt aesthetic.
“The first time I landed at Akron-Canton Airport, it was winter and snowy. I saw some dilapidated buildings. …At the same time, among the Nepali-Bhutanese community, life is going on everywhere,” said Paudel, who has directed several films in the Nepali language. “It was as if they were bringing the place back to life.”
Bruce Dern, Dayahang Rai and Hari Pancha Acharya are great to work with
Piacoril said she started producing films with friends in elementary school using a video camera, and continued to pursue acting through classes at Broadway2LA, an acting studio in Columbus.
Before starring in the new film, she had already gained a small following via her YouTube channel, where she reviews books by Bhutanese authors.
The Happiest Man in the World was her first feature film.
To prepare to play her character, Piacurel said she spent weeks writing her diary from Gungun’s point of view and listening to a playlist of songs she thought Gungun would like.
“As for the filming process, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced in my life. Everyone is so excited about what they are doing on set,” she said.
She said initially she was not aware of the status of her co-stars in Hollywood and Kathmandu.
“If I had known how big (Dern, Ray or Acharya) were, I wouldn’t have been able to keep my cool,” she said. “Having blissfully unaware was a really good thing.”
She said Dern, who plays the funeral home director, was “wonderful” to work with.
“He’s so good at what he does — they’ll be like, ‘Action!’ and he’ll be instantly in character. I’m still reeling from that experience,” Piacorel said.
This experience helped foster her interest in pursuing film studies, and she said she hopes to one day attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
“First, I have to finish high school,” she said.
Peter Gill covers immigration, new American communities and religion for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America at:bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
pgill@dispatch.com
