Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache

In Kathmandu, Nepal, we meet Tenzin (played by Rabindra Singh Baniya), a man in his 30s, who is obsessively pursuing his dream of establishing the city’s first “European style” café. While searching for the perfect spot, he stumbles upon an ancient, forsaken temple in the heart of Kathmandu, where he captures the exquisite sacred art through his camera lens. Later that same day, during a music rehearsal with his best friend Jachung (portrayed by Tulku Kungzang), who is a devoted Buddhist and a hopeless romantic, Tenzin experiences a surreal vision of a young girl in a poppy field, her ethereal song echoing in his mind. He abruptly snaps back to the present, dismissing the event as merely stress-induced.

However, Tenzin is soon confronted by another disquieting hallucination, this time featuring his long-departed sister. Sharing his concern with Jachung, he learns that he should consult a notorious Buddhist monk oracle, as Jachung cautions him, “this could be a bad omen.” Despite Jachung’s worry, Tenzin, a staunch atheist, brushes off his friend’s fears as superstitious nonsense.

While Tenzin presses on with his café plans, he discovers a promising location in a trendy area of Kathmandu and decides to celebrate with a launch party. Jachung arrives with the oracle (played by Ngawang Tenzin), a young man glued to his iPad and perpetually wearing sunglasses. Tenzin reluctantly agrees to a private meeting with the monk, during which he details his troubling visions. The monk delivers a chilling forewarning: Tenzin’s experiences hint that his life force is dwindling and that death looms near. Skeptical, Tenzin seeks medical advice but finds no scientific explanation for his phenomena.

Amidst these tribulations, Tenzin strives to maintain his everyday life. Kunsel (played by Tenzin Kunsel), a gifted musician and Jachung’s romantic interest, tutors Tenzin and Jachung for a performance involving the Dramyin, a traditional Himalayan lute cherished by Tenzin’s late mother. Yet, the eerie visions besiege him increasingly, leading to a breakdown in his meticulously ordered existence. Driven by desperation, Tenzin revisits the monk, who reveals an even more alarming prophecy: he has been cursed and must find a “dakini” within seven days—a mystical being personifying the feminine energy in Buddhism.

The monk directs Tenzin to a Buddhist Master (played by Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche), a grumpy yet enlightened sage in his 60s, who offers detailed guidance. To locate the dakini, Tenzin must recognize a woman with fangs, a mustache, or perhaps a third eye. If he encounters her, he should present a gift—food, tools, shells, or even a single shoe—and if she reciprocates, she might confirm her identity as the dakini. If not, stealing from her may be an alternative. The master also bestows upon Tenzin a secret “mudra,” a sacred hand gesture that only a genuine dakini could comprehend, but with a critical limitation—he can perform it a maximum of three times.

As Tenzin withdraws from everything once dear to him, including his coffee shop, business partners, and friendships, he scours the vibrant streets of Kathmandu in search of the elusive dakini. Days slip by with no success, forcing him to return to the master time and again for further enlightenment. By the sixth and final day of his life, Tenzin, filled with hopelessness, journeys to bid farewell to his mother. On his return, he unexpectedly encounters Kunsel, and a flicker of realization strikes him—could she, all this time, have been the dakini he desperately seeks?

Finally, casting all doubts aside, he performs the sacred mudra before Kunsel, only for her to gaze at him with confusion and hurriedly flee. Desperate, he roams the streets until another woman, who might be the dakini, catches his eye in a bustling market. With time running out, he steals the woman’s purse in a frantic bid for survival. As the night envelops him, he is left uncertain if he has averted disaster, anxiously awaiting the dawn.

When the sun rises on the seventh day, revealing Tenzin alive, he bursts with joy and newfound appreciation for life. He rushes to Jachung’s home, where they eagerly find Kunsel to share the uplifting news. As they greet one another, Tenzin is stunned when Kunsel unexpectedly performs the sacred mudra.

This leaves Tenzin contemplating—was Kunsel indeed a dakini who saved him, or was it an elaborate setup meant to nudge him towards embracing his spiritual and cultural legacy? Regardless of the outcome, Tenzin’s brush with death has permanently transformed him, evolving from a rational businessman lost in his ambitions to a spiritual seeker with an open heart.

Last Updated: October 25, 2024 at 11:00