Bishal Bhandari, the director and producer of Nepal’s hit comedy reality shows Comedy Champion and Comedy Night With Champions, has publicly asked Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for justice and a supportive working environment for his team.
In a social media post on Sunday morning, Bishal accused a business partner of demanding money unfairly and causing problems for his company, Three Production Pvt. Ltd.
About 19 months ago, an official from the Non-Resident Nepali Association joined as a partner by investing NPR 35 million for a 30% share. The agreement was that NPR 15 million would be given upfront to run Comedy Champion season 3, with the rest paid later.
Financial troubles and broken promises
Bishal explained that the partner gave him a security cheque worth NPR 21.5 million. But after the third season ended, the partner started making excuses about payment delays and began pressuring Bishal unfairly for money.
Bishal claims to have all banking records proving the transactions. He accuses the partner of misusing their relationship and power to take more money wrongly. Other shareholders have also filed legal cases over NPR 24 million misuse, currently under review in Kathmandu District Court and Patan High Court.
Because the partner did not come forward for settlement despite claiming money through cheques, Bishal filed a criminal case at Kathmandu Police. The partner also filed a banking fraud case against Bishal, which is now at the district court.
Bishal says the partner delays settlements, confuses the situation, threatens, files lawsuits to stop company work, and generally blocks the company’s progress. This behavior forced Bishal to speak out publicly.
Call for government response and justice
Despite informing Prime Minister Oli and the government secretariat, Bishal says no response has come. He highlights that over 100 people depend on the company for their jobs and daily lives.
He questions whether honest artists and hardworking creators can survive in Nepal or only those who misuse power get ahead.
Bishal ends with a strong message: “Enough is enough. If the government and laws exist, we want justice and a fair environment to work. We want to stay here and make people laugh.”
