In recent years, India has been witness to a healthy growth in children’s moviemakers. The Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) and commercial producers are beginning to give this genre another look.
One such movie is “Gattu”. It revolves around an illiterate, small town street urchin, who dreams of flying kites and beating the large kite, Kali and its mysterious flyer. Being a child from underprivileged circumstances, his dream and his willingness to succeed makes the movie interesting. The child is not just street smart but also shows remarkable leadership skills to succeed.
The director of “Gattu”, Rajan Khosa, an alumnus of Royal College of Arts, London, FTII, and NID, Ahmedabad, says, “It’s about kite flying, something which is very close to me, as well as Mohammad Samad, who is the main lead. The reason I made this movie was the joy of working with children. In my earlier film too, there was one child. I got the opportunity to work with kids again through this film,” he says.
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“Earlier, there were mainly animation flicks and very rarely, a real life Indian movie for kids. But now, I see a lot more such movies, and enjoy them too,” says Ananya Canakapalli, of Std VIII at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
Besides “Gattu”, “Chillar Party”, “Stanley ka Dabba”, “The Lotus Pond” and “I am Kalam” are movies made in the past couple of years.
If you haven’t caught any of these movies in the theatres, then it is time to start building your DVD collection. Also you can have a look at the over 200 films in various languages produced by CFSI.
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Take your pick...
Chillar Party: Involves innocent but spirited children, who are all set to join politics.
Stanley ka Dabba: It stars a fourth grader, who never carries a lunch box, but is helped by friends at mealtime. He is told to quit school or bring the ‘dabba’ by a miserly teacher.
I am Kalam: Revolves around a poor Rajasthani boy, Chotu, who is inspired by APJ Abdul Kalam’s life and feels the need to study.
Makdee: It features a young girl and an alleged witch in a mansion.
The Blue Umbrella: The story revolves around a little girl, her pretty umbrella and an envious shopkeeper.
Halo: Tells the story of Sasha who is searching for her lost puppy on Mumbai’s streets and the people that she meets.
The Lotus Pond: Takes viewers on an adventure to the fabled lotus pond in the lofty mountains with two boarding school children.