The period gave rise to several desi film genres that remain prevalent today. During that 15-17-year period, major filmmakers and stars experimented with mainstream films aimed at children. Film historians often argue that the 1950s and 60s was the golden age of Indian cinema , when filmmakers experimented with genres, subjects, and socio-political issues freely and without sacrificing mainstream commercial aspirations. A similar case could be made for the period between the late 90s and early 2010s for ‘children’s films’ in India. Be it animation, fantasy, or even coming-of-age, kids were spoilt for choice when it came to Hindi films made for them.
The lost advantage of the Children’s Film Commission
Film producer Ranjan Singh, who has backed Little Thomas and began his career with Taare Zameen Par , says the market for children’s films exists, as evidenced by the fact that three of the top 10 highest-grossing films of the year globally are children’s films. He argues, “PVR has a sub-section for kids, with about 80-90 theatres across India dedicated to children. Filmmaker Sonam Nair, who made her debut with the heartwarming teen comedy Gippi in 2013, recounts an incident from a recent outing to watch singer Mika Singh perform. His 2007 film Return of Hanuman was a cable TV hit, even if it did not do well in theatres.
So much so that when the trailer of Little Thomas – a film with an 8-year-old in the lead – dropped, the words used to describe it were ‘rare’ and ‘niche’. Because i liked the story, “I wrote this film and started making it. Because they need a reference point, i realised people are seeing it as a children’s film. Because they know how big a market it is, 90% of the films played there throughout the year are Hollywood films,. Because we had the Children’s Film Commission, which was headed by renowned actors and filmmakers, “We had a big advantage earlier. Even adult films are cut so that they can be watched by children. On the whole, we think the challenges are well worth it because, in the long run, fighting the good fight creates better-quality cinema for everyone.”
The big stars no longer work in children’s films. The animation industry has found mythology to be the only gateway for kids, and independent slice-of-life films have diminished in number. What changed, then? Hindustan Times spoke to stakeholders – filmmakers, writers, and producers – who have made such films before to decode where Bollywood’s children’s films vanished. The biggest change in the last decade of Indian cinema has been the focus on box-office ‘surety’ as a parameter for making films. Kaushal Oza wrote and directed Little Thomas , an upcoming film about a youngster trying to persuade his parents to give him a sibling. I didn’t think of it as any particular genre, just an accessible film that could be low-budget. But when I started putting this out. Industry insiders say that while Hollywood has created a blueprint for kids’ films to succeed, India has lumped children – as audience members – with adults. The films meant for children are now often those that are meant primarily for their parents or older siblings. “There were two kids who kept dancing, and they kept asking for a song. That was the Pushpa title track. He performed that, and these two kids did the full Pushpa step. That is the change. Anurag Kashyap may not be the first name that springs to mind when you talk of children’s films, but for years, he was the director of India’s most successful animated film. Kashyap attributes the changed scenario to a lack of institutional support. It was almost mandated for the industry to keep making films that catered to children. That is gone now. The irony is that we live in a time when the administration wants all films to be for children. As Anushka Shah, producer of Little Thomas, puts it: “ On distribution, the system is built around opening-weekend star power and evening shows. A children’s film needs the opposite: morning and afternoon slots, school-holiday timing, word of mouth that builds over weeks.
The filmmaker says he had to run pillar to post to pitch the film before he found a backer. They said, ‘Children’s film kaunsi chalti hai (Which children’s film is successful).’,” he says. The kids want to watch Pushpa,” she says. But they should not be children’s films,” says the filmmaker.
That is in stark contrast to how the situation is today. ‘Risk averse’ is the term writers and directors use to describe financiers and producers today.
Around the turn of the millennium, Hindi cinema saw a big, positive change in how films meant for children were mounted, made, and marketed. Mainstream stars, actors, and producers increasingly began to venture into the space. And this continued for over a decade. Vishal Bhardwaj began his career with Makdee and Blue Umbrella. Anurag Kashyap followed Black Friday with Return of Hanuman. Both Yash Raj Films and Dharma Productions backed multiple children’s films. And then there were the non-star-led films that still left their mark, from Stanley Ka Dabba to Jajantaram Mamantaram.
