Finally, at 21, he landed in Kathmandu and stayed with his uncles. In Kathmandu, he scoured the Art Council and the Academy Hall, watching plays. Once, he went to the National Theatre Festival at the Academy Hall and watched a total of 20-22 plays but couldn’t meet and speak to the directors, even though he wanted very much to learn acting and direction. One day, he found out about a workshop at Nachghar, which was being conducted by Anup Baral. Daya thought he would do backstage and learn production but he also managed to get a small role. That role helped him realize the importance, and his passion for, acting. To be a director, he realized that one needs to know the essence of acting. Eventually, he went on to do more plays and met many theater artists. He also acted in a dummy tele serial called Mokshya with actors like Sudarshan Thapa and Kriti Bhattarai. This helped him to learn the techniques of filmmaking. Meanwhile, Gurukul was just being established at this time. He worked with Bijay Bisfot and other actors in many stage plays. He also acted with Navin Subba in the famous serial Dalan in six episodes. Around this time, he also acted in a movie Anagarik with director Ram Babu Gurung, and writer Shrawan Mukarung. The movie was made for the Gurung community and was only showed at charity functions. However, acting in the film gave him a lot of confidence. In 2007, he did a three-month course at Actors Studio and worked in various plays. During the end of this period, he directed a play Mahiladotcom, which led to a movie Mero Euta Sathi Cha and then, the critically acclaimed DasdhungaÂ. Eventually, he acted in Hamro Team (serial), Loot, Highway, Chadke and Badhshala, which have all been released to critical acclaim. His forthcoming movies are Karkash and Jholey. “He was a regular fixture in the audience of street plays and viewed them with a critic’s eye. He even had an interest in the fine arts and sketched while in school.”
