Kathmandu, May 12 -- In November 2017, when actor Reecha Sharma expressed discontent at the portrayal of a female character in the film Chhakka Panja, the filmmakers didn't take it lightly. In a coordinated campaign, the director and actors all banded together on social media to hound Sharma, supported by their fans. Chhakka Panja, the directorial debut of Deepa Shree Niraula, went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters of 2016, and Sharma's criticism was just a blip on the film's trajectory.

"I asked Deepa didi, how can you make such a film, where a female character agrees to marry a man on the condition that he gets to slap his wife every night," Sharma had said about the film, during a panel discussion at the Ekadeshma Internati...