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Bollywood fails box office collections for kids

Children?s films, as a genre, remains largely untapped in Indian cinema. What is it that?s stopping it from flourishing at the marquee?

We don’t have too many children’s films so the genre hasn’t been given space to develop which is probably why the genre has not done too well with its box office collections.

The notion adults carry of a children?s film is rather kiddish, with everyone laughing and falling. That?s a sad myth. A film like Taare Zameen Par can also be entertaining and change a child?s way of thinking.

?Nothing you do for children is ever wasted,? said an American author and musician Garrison Keillor. The marketing world is likely to nod in agreement at that, as kids form the biggest target group, be it in selling a product or marketing a film.

Ironically, the film world seems to be at a loss when it comes to catering to the core group of children. Eighty six out of 200 films that were screened at the recently concluded 18th International Children?s Film Festival were from India. However, the downside of it is that 90 per cent of those 86 films have not seen the light of day in theatres. This is generally the state of affairs when it comes to the genre of children?s films.

In fact, films made for kids have reduced considerably over the years, and the fate of the ones that were made recently, further fuelled the belief that children?s cinema is not commercially viable. For instance, a film like Chillar Party, produced by Disney UTV and Salman Khan, won critical acclaim and even a National Award, but the collections of the film were a meagre Rs.5.45 crore. Taare Zameen Par was the only exception in this case, wherein it garnered Rs.62.48 crore and was declared a hit. The general perception that children?s films are not commercially viable continues to prevail.

Even the existence of an autonomous body called the Children?s Film Society of India (CFSI), which is committed to strengthening children?s film movement within India and across the globe, has not been able to reduce the prejudice surrounding children?s films as commercial properties.

The CFSI, however, is counting its blessings. ?This year has been a good year for us because we?ve made good films like Shilpa Ranade?s Goopi Gawaiiya Bagha Bajaiiya and Buddhadeb Dasgupta?s Woh. CFSI has made more than 260 films in the last 40-45 years. But while the production requirements are looked after by the government, the distribution remains a headache. I?m trying to understand and invigorate a plan where we can directly get in touch with schools, to inculcate and encourage the habit of watching different films in the theatre among children,? says Amole Gupte, film-maker, and chairperson of CFSI.

Studios too seem hesitant about backing children?s films. But, Rucha Pathak, Senior Creative Director, Studios, Disney UTV, differs, ?We don?t have too many children’s films so I suppose the genre hasn?t been given space to develop which is probably why it has not done too well at the box-office. Also children are probably looking for heroes, whether in star-actors or in characters like Iron Man, Thor or The Avengers and those films come out once in two years or so, so in effect, the children?s film genre is still developing.?

According to Gupte, parents play a huge role in the choice of films. He feels that while parents may want to take their kids for Krrish 3, they may not bother if any other children?s film is playing at the nearby multiplex. ?Now Krrish 3 is a superhero film, but it?s not a children?s film, even though it is targetted at kids. The idea of a children?s film is that there must be some amount of damage control for already existing biases in the society, and instill a good message,? he explains. Apart from superhero films, animation is another category that falls into children?s films genre, but animation films still seem to fare better at the box-office. Nila Madhab Panda, director of children films like I Am Kalam and Jalpari, has attended several children?s film festivals, especially in Germany, Netherland and Holland. He observed that though, ?the population of children in other global regions is lesser compared to India, they still make so many children?s films.?

Another problem that arises is the confusion over the exact definition of children?s film. Children are way too intelligent, says Gupte, adding, ?The notion adults carry of a children?s film is rather kiddish, with everyone laughing and falling. That?s a sad myth. A film like Taare Zameen Par can also be entertaining and change a child?s way of thinking.?

While there are efforts to make good and intelligent children?s films in the recent past, selling it remains a herculean task. ?I turned into a marketing person more than a film-maker to sell my film. If the film had a star or had a lot of glamour quotient, any distributor would agree to buy it. It?s difficult to sell a children?s film in this country,? says Panda.

But there?s also another side to this story. Panda, who believes that the onus of inculcating film watching habits lie on parents, says, ?It?s high time that the government find a way to support and promote children?s cinema, because most films by CFSI don?t see a release and go to the library. The government should make children?s films tax-free, or allow them a run at theatres for a longer duration or allow schools to visit theatres to watch them so that children can imbibe something.?

However, there are people who are optimistic about the future of children?s film in Indian cinema. ?I see a big improvement in the coming years as more film-makers will begin making films that will attract kids to the theatre with a strong content rather than a star,? says Pathak.

Popular children?s films in recent times!

The Blue Umbrella Based on Ruskin Bond?s novel with the same name, The Blue Umbrella was directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starred Shreya Sharma and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. In 2007, it won the National Award for Best Children?s Film.

I Am Kalam

The film got a lot of critical acclaim, but the same didn?t translate into huge box-office numbers. Harsh Mayar, who played Chhotu in the film, got the National Award for best child artist in 2011. The film was also screened at several festivals all over the world, and won international acclaim. Directed by Nila Madhab Panda, it also starred Gulshan Grover.

Taare Zameen Par

While the film didn?t get a bumper opening, word-of-mouth propelled it towards the hit category. It?s still considered one of the best children?s film. Written by Amole Gupte, and directed by Aamir Khan, it was India?s official entry to the Oscars, but failed to go any further.

Stanley Ka DabbaM

This Amole Gupte directorial venture featured his son Partho Gupte, and it won critical acclaim from all over. Made on low budget. the film also recovered its cost and emerged a hit at the box-office, benefitting from the positive word-of-mouth.

Chillar Party

Produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Salman Khan, Chillar Party also won the National Award for Best Children?s Film in 2011. The film featured a number of child artistes, but despite a lot of critical acclaim, the film still failed to dig gold at the box-office.

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First published on: 29-11-2013 at 17:28 IST
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