About Agent of Happiness
| Title: | Agent of Happiness |
|---|---|
| Original Title: | खुशी को एजेन्ट |
| Plot: | The documentary team follows two happiness agents in their forties who spend a month and a half on the road twice a year, going door-to-door with their questionnaires in isolated villages in the Himalayas. The filmmakers undertake to provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of Bhutanese people, and also seek the answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured. Gross National Happiness promises a heart-warming journey into a mysterious, fairytale-like world, which is the exact opposite of the social order dominated by consumption and desires. |
| Cast: | Amber Kumar Gurung, Guna Raj Kuikel, |
| Director: | Arun Bhattarai |
| Editor: | Péter Sass |
Agent of Happiness
Udita Jhunjhunwala
Mint, Scroll.in
A Documentary questions if Bhutan is a happy country
A film about Bhutan’s happiness surveyors, in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024, captures the contrast between data and the emotions behind the numbers
In the late 1970s, the king of Bhutan coined the term “gross national happiness". GNH parameters are used to measure progress, well-being and happiness, placing their importance over economic pursuits alone. This programme has been pivotal in shaping development policies and governance in Bhutan, a landlocked nation in eastern Himalayas that is often ranked as one of the happiest in the world. Happiness surveyor Amber Kumar Gurung of the Happiness Centre is the subject of a new documentary, Agent of Happiness (in competition at the MAMI Mumbai film festival 2024).