The idea of kids from juvenile homes being cast in a feature film might sound very exciting. But it was a thought born out of desperation for Nag Gottap, director of the feature film ‘Sikharam' being screened in the 17th International Children's Film Festival.
Included in the category ‘Children's World', the film has a cast of 11 children handpicked from juvenile homes of Visakhapatnam, Eluru, Warangal, Hyderabad, Kadapa, and Tirupati. Two more kids were taken from Paderu tribal region. The film essentially portrays the lack of medical facilities in tribal areas where patients are carried to hospital on shoulders. The entire crew sifted through nearly 5,000 faces. A crew member suggested that we try children from juvenile homes,” Nag recollected at a press conference on Wednesday. The children were let off from the homes with due escort for 28 days of shooting. Nag, to his surprise, found them very focussed, and performing better than adults.
On the third day of the festival, shows began late by an hour, and technical glitches at one of the make-shift theatres.
