HYDERABAD: Making movies for children is a difficult craft. Not only do kids have short attention spans, the easy accessibility to other forms of entertainment through the Internet has made them choosy too. The Indian film industry, despite having many beautiful children’s films in their kitty, seem to be losing the race right now to the biggies from Hollywood. While some say the Indian ones do not have the right content, a few others say that the lack of viewership makes children’s movies commercially unviable. So, what do kids really want to watch on the big screen?
Aadya Yadati, an 11-year-old, who studies in Aurobindo International School, says: “The kind of content we want to see mostly depends on the child. Some like princesses and stuff like that, others like superheroes and some like anything depending on their mood. Some of my favourite flicks are The Pacifier, Frozen, The Spy Next Door, The Queen of Katwe, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Kung Fu Panda Holiday, Middle School - The Worst Years of My Life, Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Spy Kids (1,2,3,4), Next Gen, Benji and The Secret Life of Pets.”
Talking about why he feels Hollywood fares better, he adds: “Disney knows how children react. They talk to kids and direct films based on what they experienced as kids. They test how kids react to different situations, people, places etc., whereas Indian films mostly copy other films. When it comes to making original movies, it is much more time-consuming. So they copy. An original movie is better.”
Harshika Dantuluri, a 13-year-old, however, thinks that children’s movies made in the West should embrace more diversity. She wants the same in Indian movies too.
“I want to see more diversity, more acceptance, better and more meaningful plots in Indian movies for children. My favourite among children’s movies is the Harry Potter series. Hollywood movies have a better production value and they have better plots than our movies. Also, Bollywood doesn’t make a lot of movies for kids. However, most Hollywood movies have the same basic cookie-cutter protagonists. They’re always radically Americanised and generally don’t have any flair. I’d like to see people of colour, differently-abled people, LGBT people, people from different religions, cultures etc., without resorting to making them useless side characters.”
Pradyumna, the 13-year-old singer who has earned quite a name for himself singing for social causes, says that he likes movies that drive home some message. “I like message-oriented movies which helps the society.
I loved Home Alone 3 because they showed how a child can protect himself from intruders. Among Indian ones, I like Taare Zameen Par as the protagonist slowly improves in his studies, and it inspires everyone.” For seven-year-old Marziah Fatima Rizvi, it’s all about magical creatures and balloons. “I loved Up because of the little boy and balloons. I also liked How To Train Your Dragon because the dragons could fly!”
Agreeing that there should be a change in the way Indian film makers conceptualise children’s movies, Tollywood filmmaker Tammareddy Bharadwaj said: “In Hollywood, children’s movies are not exclusively made for children. For e.g., the Harry Potter series caters to children and their parents alike. Even the ones made in Iran and UAE are watchable with parents. In India, children’s movies were being made just for the sake of `20 lakh subsidy given by the government earlier.
If you want to convey a message, you can easily do so through TV or newspapers or ads, but when it comes to movies, it should be interesting. So, we are lacking somewhere in making the films. Little Soldiers was the last Telugu children’s movie that did well. Classics like Papam Pasivadu and Letha Manasulu were big hits in their time. We are not making those kinds of films today. If we make a business proposition with children’s films, irrespective of whether it is a hit or flop, we will get theatres.”
However, Ayodhyakumar Krishnamsetty, who directed and produced the highly-acclaimed children’s movie Minugurulu, says that more support is necessary so that children’s movies can find a larger audience. Minugurulu, which was the first-ever Telugu film that contended for the best feature at the Oscars in 2014, failed to fare well in the box office.
“There is no medium to show children’s movies. We don’t get theatres for children’s films. In China and others countries, it is mandatory to give theatres for children’s movies, but no such support is available here. Most of the filmmakers who made children’s movies are repenting now after facing losses. Even TV channels do not buy children’s movies as they do not bring enough TRPs. Filmmakers have to go to schools and ask them to show these movies. It is a painful process for us. I made a very high-quality film with international crew, but the response was the same.”