Saugat Malla is preparing for one of the most ambitious transformations of his career, with the acclaimed Nepali actor set to portray the same character from the age of 25 to 80 in director Saurabh Chaudhary’s upcoming film The Rise of Saamrajya.
The epic action drama will follow Malla’s character across 55 years of his life, making the role one of the film’s most intriguing elements.
According to the production team, audiences will see the actor both as a young 25-year-old man and as an 80-year-old elderly figure.
The transformation is expected to go far beyond make-up and costume. Playing one character across more than five decades will require Malla to reflect changing age through his voice, body language, movement, physicality and emotional temperament.
Director Saurabh Chaudhary said Malla was selected because the story required an actor capable of handling such a demanding character journey. The rest of the cast is currently being finalised, with further announcements expected gradually.
The Rise of Saamrajya marks another collaboration between Saugat Malla and Saurabh Chaudhary following Agastya: Chapter 1. Their latest project, however, appears to be mounted on a significantly larger scale. Celebrated Nepali novelist Buddhisagar has written the film, adding further interest to the project.
When the movie was first announced, its theme poster featured flames, a horse-mounted figure and characters dressed in costumes associated with an older royal period, offering an early glimpse of its large-scale period setting.
The makers have not yet revealed the exact historical period, central storyline or identity of Malla’s character. It also remains undisclosed whether The Rise of Saamrajya is directly inspired by documented history or tells a fictional story within a historical-looking world.
Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the first week of Bhadra, with approximately 70 days allocated for filming. A significant portion of the shoot is expected to take place in eastern Nepal.
Dark Horse Entertainment is producing the film. Pravesh Chaudhary and Nila Dev are serving as producers, while Bishwas Basnet is co-producer and Shankar Pandey is executive producer.
Man Krishna Maharjan will handle cinematography, and Shree Shrestha is attached to the project as action director.
The filmmakers have described The Rise of Saamrajya as a large-canvas production, with additional casting announcements expected in the coming days.
For now, Saugat Malla’s dramatic age transformation stands out as the film’s biggest talking point. Watching one of Nepali cinema’s most versatile performers take a protagonist from youthful adulthood to old age could become one of The Rise of Saamrajya’s defining attractions.
