January 29: The Indian movie 'Uunchai', which was shot in Nepal, has been shown in India, America, Malaysia, Australia and other countries, and now Nepal is being discussed all over the world.

The reason for that is that the filming of 'Uunchai' is at the highest place in the world. The movie was filmed at Everest base camp and has contributed to the promotion of tourism in Nepal. The film shows spectacular views of the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, as well as the tourist areas such as Manang, Lukla and Kathmandu.

Starring Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani and Anupam Kher, Uchai was released last October. The film made at a cost of INR 450 million earned Rs 500 million in the box office. Although it is an average film in terms of earnings, its story has touched the hearts of the audience. More than that, the place where the film was shot has touched the hearts of many.

The shooting of a film featuring famous Bollywood actors in Nepal after a long gap has raised hopes of boosting Nepal's tourism business, which has been sluggish of late. In the past too, when Indian films shot in Nepal were screened, there used to be an increase in the number of Indians visiting Nepal.

Dozens of Bollywood and Hollywood movies have been shot in Nepal's tourist destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Mustang. When movies shot in Nepal are screened in other countries, the number of tourists visiting Nepal increases significantly.

Most of the tourists coming to Nepal are Indians. According to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, from 2010 to 2019, a total of 83,32,000 thousand tourists came to Nepal. Among them, 18.67 percent (15,54,000) were Indians. Stakeholders say that the films shot in the background of the Himalayan region of Nepal has a strong potential to contribute to the improvement of Nepal's tourism.

More than 70 films from India, China, Hong Kong, Spain, France, America and other countries have been shot in Nepal. When films shot in Nepal are shown in different countries, it has a direct impact on Nepal’s tourism.

'Up to His Years', shown in 1965, was the first movie shot in Nepal.

The year the film was aired, 9,388 tourists came to Nepal. The following year, 12,537 tourists arrived in Nepal. The increase in tourist arrivals by more than 33 and a half percent the year after the movie was released is considered a positive effect of the movie.

Nepal does not have the data of exactly how many tourists came from France and Italy the year after the release of the film. However, experts believe that at that time more tourists came from that country than at any other time.

Similarly, after the performance of 'The Touch' in 2002, tourist arrivals increased by 22.74 percent. In 2002, the tourist arrival was 275,468 and in 2003 it reached 338,132.

Statistics show that every time there is a screening of foreign films shot in Nepal, the number of tourists has increased.