Rewaa (Film)

Rewaa (Dzongkha: "Hope") is a 1999 Bhutanese film written and directed by Tshering Wangyel (1971/1972 -- 7 December 2015). Widely regarded as the first commercially successful feature film in the Dzongkha language, Rewaa is a landmark in the cultural history of Bhutan. As one critic observed, "the commercial Bhutanese film industry was born" with this production. Before Rewaa, Bhutanese audiences were almost entirely dependent on Indian and other foreign films for cinematic entertainment; after it, a domestic industry began to take shape that would eventually produce hundreds of Dzongkha-language titles.^[1]

Plot and Production

The film is a romantic drama centred on two college friends who fall in love with the same woman — a love triangle that provided accessible, emotionally engaging storytelling for Bhutanese audiences. Tshering Wangyel, who was working at the Ministry of Agriculture at the time, wrote the screenplay himself and handled much of the technical work including camera operation, sound, and lighting. The production was a shoestring affair: three of Wangyel's friends starred in the lead roles and each contributed approximately US$5,000 towards the budget.^[2]

Rewaa also featured what is generally considered Bhutan's first cinematic musical number. Wangyel borrowed the melody from a popular Indian film and persuaded his cousins to serve as backup dancers for the sequence. This creative borrowing from Bollywood conventions — musical numbers, romantic storylines, vivid emotion — would become a hallmark of Bhutanese commercial cinema in the years that followed, even as directors gradually developed a more distinctly Bhutanese cinematic voice.^[3]

Tshering Wangyel: The Father of Bhutanese Cinema

Tshering Wangyel is often called the father of commercial Bhutanese cinema. Born in 1971 or 1972, he had no formal training in filmmaking when he decided to produce Rewaa. The film's unexpected commercial success convinced him to leave his government career and devote himself to the nascent film industry. Over the following sixteen years, he directed more than 50 feature films, making him by far the most prolific director in Bhutanese cinema history.^[4]

Wangyel's body of work spanned multiple genres. In 2007, he produced Bakchha, the first Bhutanese horror film, demonstrating his willingness to experiment beyond the romantic dramas that had defined the industry's early years. His films blended elements of Bollywood-style entertainment with Buddhist themes and Bhutanese cultural settings, creating a distinctive cinematic formula that appealed to domestic audiences. International media described his work as a fusion of "Bollywood and Buddhism."^[5]

Tshering Wangyel died of pneumonia on 7 December 2015, at the age of approximately 43 or 44, while in the process of making what would have been his final film. His death was widely mourned in Bhutan, and tributes from across the country's cultural establishment acknowledged his foundational role in creating an industry where none had previously existed.^[6]

Legacy and Impact

The significance of Rewaa extends well beyond its qualities as a film. By demonstrating that a Dzongkha-language production could attract paying audiences, it opened the door for an entire industry. In the two decades since its release, Bhutanese cinema has grown to produce dozens of titles annually, with filmmakers such as Khyentse Norbu and Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk gaining international recognition. The introduction of digital filmmaking technology has further lowered barriers to entry, enabling a new generation of Bhutanese directors to tell stories rooted in their own culture and experience.^[7]

Rewaa also represents a moment of cultural transition in Bhutan. The late 1990s saw the kingdom navigating the introduction of television and the internet (both legalised in 1999), and the emergence of a domestic film industry was part of a broader engagement with modernity and globalisation. That this engagement began with a love story shot on a minimal budget by a self-taught director speaks to the resourcefulness and creative ambition that have characterised Bhutanese cinema from its inception. See also: Cinema of Bhutan.

References

1. "Cinema of Bhutan." Wikipedia.
2. "Tshering Wangyel." Wikipedia.
3. "Cinema of Bhutan." Wikipedia.
4. "Popular film director dies." Bhutan Broadcasting Service, 8 December 2015.
5. "Leading Bhutanese filmmaker is dead." Gulf Times.
6. "Top Bhutanese filmmaker Tshering Wangyel dies." Yahoo News/AFP.
7. "Cinema of Bhutan." Wikipedia.