Chhabi Raj Ojha (aka Chabi Raj Ojha, छविराज ओझा in Nepali) is a popular Nepali film producer, distributor and director. He is best known as the ex-husband of popular Nepali movie star Rekha Thapa and another Nepali actress Shilpa Pokhrel.
During his long career in the Nepali movie industry, Ojha has produced and directed numerous commercially successful and critically acclaimed movies.
In 2016, Nepali tabloids widely reported that Chhabi Raj Ojha was getting married for the fourth time to the much younger Nepali actress Shilpa Pokhrel who he had brought into the film industry. In July 2019, it was revealed that Ojha and Pokhrel had already been married for three years, but had been hiding their relationship so that they would get continuous publicity for their ‘affair’, which would lead to the promotion of their movies.
In July 2019, Ojha’s wife, Shilpa Pokhrel made a police complaint against Ojha for ‘multiple physical assaults’ and domestic violence. Ojha, reportedly, had beaten Pokhrel so severely that according to medical reports she was suffering from hearing impairment.
In the same month, Pokhrel filed for divorce citing domestic violence as the main cause of separation.
Early life & education
Chhabi Raj Ojha was born in 1964 in Dharan, a popular city in the eastern Sunshari district of Nepal, and spent most of his childhood and young years there. After completing the School Leaving Certificate (SLC) in 1979 from a public school in Dharan, Ojha joined a public college in the same city to pursue an Intermediate in Commerce (I.Com) degree.
However, since his home was very near to a movie theatre called Shiva Cinema Hall, he had developed a habit of watching movies from an early age and wasn’t much into studies. Passionate to do something in the film industry, in 1985, Ojha ultimately teamed up with a friend called Kuber Sharma and the duo launched a film distribution firm named Dhan Laxmi Films.
A successful career in the Nepali movie industry
After a short experience as a movie distributor in Dharan, Ojha decided to move to Kathmandu so that he could pursue a career in the movie industry more seriously. He managed to get exclusive distribution rights for the movie Bhagyarekha, directed by Deepak Rayamajhi. The movie, however, fared badly at the box office.
At the age of mere 24, Ojha was ready to take another plunge. He decided to work as a movie producer. His first movie Yug Dekhi Yug Samma became a popular hit and established Ojha in the Nepali movie industry. Ojha’s first movie was also the debut of Nepali movie superstar Rajesh Hamal.
After Yug Dekhi Yug Samma, Chhabi Raj Ojha has produced and directed several movies and has given entry to dozens of newcomers. Some of his protégés have ended up becoming superstars in the Nepali movie industry.
Personal Life
Chhabi Raj Ojha’s first marriage, which he did in 1984, lasted for 8 years and ended in divorce in 1992. After that, he met a girl named Gitanjali Sunuwar while working in the movie Nata and started dating. However, Sunuwar, who suffered from severe depression and mental illnesses, committed suicide a few years later. Ojha has two sons from his first marriage and a son with Gitanjali.
Then Ojha had a twelve-year-long relationship/partnership with the Nepali actress and model Rekha Thapa, whom he had given a break into the movie industry through his home-production Hero.
Rekha Thapa has often claimed that the relationship was never registered, and Ojha has claimed that the marriage ceremony was carried out in a traditional way and that they were a married couple. The couple lived together, owned properties together, and invested in and produced movies together for years. In the summer of 2012, Ojha and Thapa ended the relationship. However, it was announced only in 2016 that they were legally divorcing.
