Maxam Gaudel's 'Ekolas' Impersonation of Nicholas Bhusal Goes Viral

Kathmandu. A blue coat, a scarf with 'Hareram' written on the shoulder, a distinctive laugh – this is the identity of 'Nicholas Bhusal'.

The exact imitation character of Nicholas Bhusal is 'Ekolas', played by artist Maxam Gaudel. When Maxam appeared in the 'Ekolas' avatar with the dialogue 'We can do it' in the latest episode of 'Comedy Nights With Champion'.

He is being praised from all sides for his exact imitation and mimicry of Nicholas. Clips and pictures of his performance are viral from Facebook to TikTok.

Gen Z activist Nicholas is famous for his distinctive laugh, different way of speaking, and habit of describing everything in 4 ways. Maxam presented this style of his in a satirical manner as 'Ekolas'.

A promo was released before the show, in which there was a small presentation of his Ekolas getup. Based on that, the audience was waiting for that episode. After the episode was broadcast, Maxam received a flood of love and feedback from the audience.

Nicholas himself appeared as a guest on the show where Maxam's 'Ekolas' avatar was featured. 'I exchanged general pleasantries with him backstage when I wasn't in character,' says Maxam, 'But when I came on stage as Ekolas, he was surprised. He hadn't thought anyone would delve so deeply into his character.'

Maxam's caricature became so impressive that some people started recognizing the real Nicholas Bhusal only after watching Maxam's performance.

'Nicholas ji himself told me. Many people tell me that they recognized me only after seeing your character (Ekolas) when they meet me,' Maxam repeated Nicholas's words. He said that Nicholas also praised his work.

The idea for the 'Ekolas' character in Maxam came for the first time when a video of Nicholas Bhusal went viral from Maitighar. At that time, he only imitated the laugh, which his friends liked and praised, he said. After that, he worked on his voice, walk, and hand gestures.

'At that time, the country was in a mood of party registration and elections. At that time, I imagined a situation,' he said, 'What if Nicholas Bhusal met Durga Prasai?' The presentation of 'Prasai and Ekolas', where Suman Koirala was presented in the avatar of Durga Prasai, created a stir on social media.'

Maxam said that his current character incorporates the popular phrase 'four things' and a slightly loud voice, and he has received more attention from this character than before. He said it took about a month and a half to create this character.

Maxam is not limited to imitating Nicholas. He also does powerful caricatures of veteran artists Rajaram Poudel and Prakash Ghimire. In the show, he has played characters ranging from the 'Buraj' series representing society to the female character 'Bishnu Maya Gaudel' (Gaudelni Maiju).

Maxam, who always likes to play unique and unprecedented characters in the show, also has a very popular 'Gaudelni Maiju' avatar from last year's Teej special program. In his avatar, presented with a female getup, many people couldn't even recognize him. His ability to mold his physical structure, facial expressions, and gait according to the character has always been praised.

Comedy Since Childhood

The seed of Maxam's artistry was sown in the soil of Syangja in his childhood. When he was in the 6th grade, he danced for the first time to a parody song by artist Shivahari Poudel. That dance, done with paint on his mustache and beard, not only earned him a prize from the teacher but also ignited his hunger to become an artist.

After that, he started making friends laugh with various parodies and caricatures. He said that once, encouraged by his friends, he was caught by a teacher while caricaturing the teachers.

'When my friends insisted a lot, I was imitating teacher Gopal Poudel and didn't even realize Sir had come to the door,' he said, 'I was scared that I would be beaten, but Sir encouraged me instead.'

Encouraged by this, he went on to imitate Haribansha Acharya's 'Haribahadur' and gained popularity from Radio Aandikhola's children's program to Waling Television.

Before establishing himself in his artistic career, he also worked as a branch manager for an insurance company in Syangja. On one hand, there was a secure future and a good salary job, and on the other hand, the unfulfilled dream of becoming an artist.

When 'Comedy Champion Season 1' was announced, Maxam sent his audition video in his job uniform and was selected. When he received a call for the show, he resigned from his job and headed to Kathmandu.

'I didn't know how far I would go, but I was so excited when I got the call from Kathmandu that I immediately submitted my resignation letter,' he said, 'At that time, I wondered if I had made a mistake. Now I feel like I made the right decision.'

For Maxam, comedy is not just a means of making people laugh; he considers it a 'medicine'. 'Comedy is a weapon for people to escape their boring lives and stress,' he said, 'To put it in Syangjali dialect, comedy is about creating an environment for hearty laughter.'

He has experienced that the comedy field has made great strides recently. He is happy that the presence of comedians is increasing from stage shows abroad to films. 'Now it is possible to make a career out of this with confidence,' he said.

Dream of Becoming a Hero

Maxam, who makes everyone laugh from the comedy stage, doesn't limit his dream to just making people laugh. He also wants to be known as a hero on the big screen (films). For that, he debuted in films with 'Pheri Resham Firiri' some time ago, and has also acted in his second film 'Malati Mangale'.

In the film, which was released on Jestha 25th, he appeared as a character named 'Hari', who is the close friend of the film's hero Vijay Baral. He said that he is receiving good feedback for his film acting.

'For me, film is the root of all art,' Maxam said, 'Film is where literature, music, dance, and acting all come together.'

He says that he doesn't feel like he has to be a hero right now, but he is always ready to play a strong character that the story demands and that the audience will remember.