Asha Magrati
The daughter of an ex-British Gurkha, Magrati grew up inside an army camp where every weekend various films were screened. She fell in love with film and acting quite early in her childhood. Her first role was in a theater play when she was only thirteen, and she has since acted in numerous plays, TV shows and films that have screened internationally. Her performance has been praised by the international press: "Magrati shines as the devoted and extremely pragmatic single mother." (Variety, White Sun review). Magrati co-founded Aadi Production with filmmaker Deepak Rauniyar in 2008, in Nepal. Since then, Aadi has produced two features (Highway, Berlin 2012 and White Sun, Venice 2016) and two shorts (Chaukaith 2008 and Pooja 2010). The company is developing Raja (by Deepak Rauniyar) and The Palace (by Anil Baral). Aadi strives to move away from the Bollywood-dominated and influenced formula films that dominate Nepali cinema, seeking to bring a fresh perspective and voice to the cinema of their country. In 2018 Nepal's one of the largest selling daily newspaper included Rauniyar and Magrati among 25 movers and shakers who helped shape Nepal over the past 25 years.