Black Market DVDs, Kathmandu

Black Market DVDs
New Road and the Backstreets
Kathmandu, Nepal

Jackpot! Late evening strolls have paid off in a bevy of illicit DVDs. Yes, you can buy these on the streets of Thamel for between 100 and 300 rupees, or you can wind your way through the back streets on the way to New Road and get them for 35 to 50 Nepali rupees. Classic movies, like Goodfellas or Godfather tend to run a few rupees more than the standards and will cost you somewhere around 50 to 80 rupees (the present exchange rate is about 75 rupees to the US dollar).

Just beyond the miniature stupa-like temple on Surat Bajra Road, camouflaged by the walls of endless shops on the east side of the street, is an the electronics mall and the storehouse for the loot. If this is too complicated, which it no doubt will be the first couple of times, take an easier approach and visit the three, second and third story, DVD shops inside Bishal Bizar—the mall on New Road. Here the DVDs run about the same price. The few extra bills may be worth it as the quality of these discs is slightly superior to the ones at the electronics mall.

All of these shops have movies in a variety of languages Hindi, Russian, Korean, and English being the most prevalent. Ask for the films in your language of choice the shop owner will inevitably start pulling out shoebox sized wooden boxes of DVDs. Some shops sell DVDs that contain multiple movies per disc. Instinctively, I avoid the temptation but you are welcomed to give it a go. Also worth a spin are the hundreds of music CDs also offered in a litany of languages and genres.

Last night I picked up 5 new movies Goodfellas, Vampire Hunter D, The Devil Came on Horseback, Son of Rambo, and I am Robot. Despite checking out their quality on the shops' TVs, when played on my laptop, the sound quality on Vampire Hunter D was terrible--clear but at a whisper. Therefore, if you want to ensure that each flick works with your particular set up, bring your computer along for a trial. The rest of the films were perfect. Nevertheless, at the equivalent of 50 cents to 1 dollar (USD), it's not a huge loss if things aren't up to snuff.

Bringing your computer can also be handy if you find yourself trying to purchase anything during the nightly power outages. There are a few things to make sure of when you are buying DVDs. First make sure your salesperson has a TV and DVD player so that you can watch at least short movie segments. When watching, pay attention to the volume level and be sure to listen to diologue.

Common problems include muddled sound, whisper volume, or dialogue that is uncoordinated with the speaker. Most recently released movies are shoddy. For example, Quantum of Solace--the still-in-theaters 007 movie--is not going to be of good quality at these DVD shops. Instead, it's best to look for films that are at least 6 months to 1 year old. It's also good to go without any expectations of what you'll find. Discovery, not pre-meditated movie purchasing, is part of the adventure. I am in search of the following flicks, The Serpent and the Rainbow and The Exorcist--but have instead found the Grudge, American Meth, and the Godfather series. I think Don Corleone would be proud.