The post of president at the Film Development Board (FDB) has been open for half a year after Neer Shah was removed once Ramesh Nath Pandey received the portfolio for Information and Communication. At a recent reception hosted by Udhhav Paudel, a producer and the proprietor of Gopi-Krishna Movies, Minister Pandey's tart response to our query on when a new president would be instated was, "No comment." At the moment, joint-secretary Mukunda Regmi runs the show at the FDB.

Nearly four months ago the ministry called for applications and though six senior industry people applied, nothing has been announced. Insiders say Udhav Paudel is likely to be Shah's belated successor. They have begun to complain that their sector has gone down the drain without a properly functioning government watchdog-facilities for movie-goers have become shabby, unhealthy competition has increased and absolutely nobody is paying taxes.

The FDB was established in 2001 following a long campaign by the film industry. Against everyone's expectations the positions were political appointments that led to the first president Yadav Kharel handing in his resignation to protest political interference.