The Kingdom of Bhutan is considered by some to be the “happiest country on Earth.”
In a new film, "The World's Happiest Man," the main character, a Bhutanese man living in Akron, Ohio, asks his doctor if she knows how many people with PTSD are in Bhutan. When she replies she doesn’t know, he responds, “Not a single one. Because Bhutan is the world’s only happiest place…”
Situated between Nepal, India and China, the small Himalayan monarchy refocused their national energy in the 1970s toward what they call Gross National Happiness. The idea, credited to the King of Bhutan at the time, was that the government would focus not primarily on traditional metrics like GDP, but on what they deemed was a more holistic approach to governance that emphasized many factors other than the economy in making their people the happiest in the world.
But, as the main character in the film points out to the doctor, not everyone from Bhutan gets to share in that happiness.
Deepak Gajmer now lives in Akron, but he was born in Bhutan. He was just a toddler when his family was expelled from the country and forced into refugee camps in Nepal.
“In refugee camp it was very tough,” said Gajmer. “A lot of people who had not gone through that situation, still they can have some idea that, you know, how tough a refugee life will be.”
In the late 1800s, Nepalese migrant workers started coming to Bhutan to work on farms and in other roles. Those workers and their families stayed in the country for generations, many acquiring citizenship and integrating into Bhutanese society. But these people, known as Lhotshampa, are ethnically distinct from the rest of Bhutan and speak their native tongue, Nepali, not Dzongka, the national language of Bhutan. Despite this, there was not much friction between the large minority, and the general population in the country that still only has roughly 800,000 total people today.
In the late 1980s, the King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, known as the 4th Druk Gyalpo, which means “Dragon King,” decided that for national unity, the Lhotshampa must be expelled from Bhutan.
“I don't know totally," Gajmer said. "Still I am questioning, you know, what was the reason that we were, you know, taken out of the country?"
Some believe Wangchuck sought to expel the Lhotshampa because of their differences in ethnicity, language and religion. In addition to the linguistic and ethnic differences, the Nepalese people are mostly Hindu, while the Bhutanese are mostly Buddhist.
Over 100,000 Lhotshampa refugees spent nearly 20 years languishing in refugee camps in Eastern Nepal.
Life was difficult, said Gajmer, but he also credits his time in the refugee camps with providing him an education. Starting in 2008, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) began a resettlement process that eventually placed the Lhotshampa in host countries, primarily the United States, Canada and Australia.
Over 90,000 of the refugees ended up in the United States, with the largest community settling in Columbus, Ohio.
Many of these refugees, living all over the world, share two things in common. One is that they suffer from the post-traumatic stress of being ethnically cleansed and living in refugee camps. The other is they have a desire to go back to the homeland they were born in, if only to visit, and are not allowed back.
This is the premise of "The World’s Happiest Man." An Akron man, played by Hari Bansha Acharya, a major Nepali film star and comedian, desperately yearns to return home for a final visit to Bhutan before he dies. Though the character is a former member of the Bhutanese National soccer team, he is unable to secure a visa.
He also suffers from deep depression stemming from his loss of home and identity.
Filming in Akron
Binod Paudel, the film’s director, is not Lhotshampa himself, but he grew up in Nepal, removed from the experiences of those in the camps.
Paudel previously helmed the Nepali entry into the 2020 Academy Awards, “Bulbul (2019),” and has since relocated to the United States. He now lives and works in North Carolina, and for several years he wanted to make a film telling the story of the Lhotshampa in American cities.
“When I came to Akron and I talked to a lot of people in American community … people don't know about, you know, Bhutanese people,” said Paudel.
Paudel also sought to draw attention to the mental health issues plaguing Bhutanese communities in the United States.
According to a study commissioned by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Bhutanese refugees in the United States were committing suicide at a rate nearly twice that of the general population.
“I decided that I should go to the community and then research more about the people," he said.
His first attempt at this was in 2022, for a film called “Rubber City” that was to chronicle the lives of the Lhotshampa in Akron. When that production stalled out due to funding issues, he went back to the drawing board to reshape the film. That film became “The World’s Happiest Man,” which was released on Amazon Prime Video in January.
Gajmer, who had also worked on “Rubber City,” served as the line producer on the film and ran a basecamp for the whole production from his home in Akron. After the disappointment of the failure of the first film, Gajmer was dedicated to making the new film a success.
“I just promised director Vinod Poudel, no matter what happens, how it goes, no matter who will leave you, right, I will be always behind you,” said Gajmer.
The Bhutanese community of Akron joined in the production lending hands, beds for people to sleep in, meals for hungry crews, working in production roles and even appearing in the film, he said.
The story includes three generations of Lhotshampa refugees in Akron, each dealing with problems unique to their group. Among them is cultural shifts within the family, something Paudel also noted as a major source of conflict in the refugee community.
“The seniors here, they couldn't accept the change, the culture change, the language changes, and it’s still going on, actually. And they still have some kind of objections or obstacle ... with other generations,” said Paudel.
In addition to the professionals from Nepal like Acharya, real figures from the Bhutanese expat communities in Akron and Columbus not only show up as extras, but play significant roles in the film. Leading the cast from a critical supporting role is two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern.
“He's the 'University of Acting,'” said Paudel. “I learned so much like in four days.”
Dern has a powerful supporting role in the film, particularly in his interactions with the main character’s granddaughter, Gungun, played by newcomer Aditi Pyakurel. She provides an eye-opening performance as a teen grappling with the strictures of her culture. In real life, her father, Bhuwan Pyakurel, is the first Bhutanese-American elected to public office in the United States as city council president in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. He also appears in the film in a moving sequence where he retells of an atrocity committed against his family in Bhutan.
In the film, Gungun struggles to embrace her family’s traditions while her parents deal with a new pregnancy. When they discover she is dating another girl, the cultural mores of her community test her ability to be there for her family in a tumultuous time.
Gajmer credits the young Pyakurel’s stunning performance with carrying the film, which relies on her connection to American culture. She serves as a sometimes-interpreter between the English speaking character played by Dern and the Bhutanese people in the film.
The film, like it’s title, is a bit of perception shift. It is about a deeply unhappy man. What starts as a seemingly light comic drama, becomes a brooding and, at times, almost supernatural meditation on culture, religion and death.
Completing the film was a labor of love for Gajmer, and he credits the production with giving him a great sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction of having done something for his community.
“Always, especially Bhutanese people, they have a good heart, they always love and respect and support artists," he said.
“The Word's Happiest Man” is available now via streaming services. A theatrical premiere in Akron is in the works by the production team.