By Anand Pandit
I have a faint recollection of watching ‘Jaldeep’ on Doordarshan, a children’s film that iconic director Kidar Sharma directed in 1956. This was the first film ever produced by the Children‘s Film Society, which was established in 1955 under the aegis of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. CFSI went on to produce many landmark children’s films in various languages and various TV programs, including the hugely popular ‘Potli Baba Ki’ (1991).
It is appropriate that this blog is being written around November 14 because CFSI was envisioned by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. It attracted many leading filmmakers including Shyam Benegal who made the comedy ‘Charandas Chor’, Tapan Sinha (Safed Haathi), Sai Paranjpey (Jādoo Kā Shankh, Sikandar) and Santosh Sivan (Halo). In March 2022, CFSI was merged with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and that brings us to the question of why so few makers today are interested in making cinema for children.
Sai Paranjpye who twice served as the Chairperson of CFSI, is in fact one of the few makers whose body of work has a substantial portion dedicated to children and includes books, plays, films as well as advocacy.
How critically important dedicated content for children is embodied in the lasting success of ‘Sesame Street’, a long time favorite of children in the US. For decades, it has woven educational concepts with fun and entertainment via live-action, comedy sketches, animation, puppetry and beloved characters like Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and many others. Today, Rachel Anne Accurso or Ms. Rachel, an American YouTuber and singer-songwriter, is teaching children across the world simple concepts pertaining to language development. She started the channel because there were no media resources for her son who had speech delay issues. Today, her channel has over 15 million subscribers and demonstrates the acute need for such content among children and parents.
For those who think, content for children is not lucrative, here is something to chew on. ‘Bluey’, an Australian TV series for children, was 2024’s biggest streaming series in the U.S and according to Nielsen, it clocked over 842 million hours of viewing through November. An article in thecurrent.com informs that Kids’ series ‘Cocomelon’ and ‘Gaby’s Dollhouse,’ on Netflix, were among the most-streamed shows of 2023, while ‘Moana’ was the biggest streaming movie of that year.
Be it in the space of animation, tailored education content or cinema, our children in India deserve more. This requires larger commissioning budgets and intentionality so that we need not only look back wistfully at tentpole hits like ‘My Dear Kuttichathan’ (1984) or sporadic treats like ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007), ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’ (2011), and Chillar Party (2011). Cinema can be an inclusive theatrical experience which does not overlook children and creates something resonant beyond foreign franchises.
I still remember how popular ‘Karadi Tales’, a publishing focused on picture and audiobooks, grew to be after its inception in 1996. It carved a niche for Indian stories in the world of children’s publishing and we can do the same in cinema and on the small screen. Stories from ‘The Panchatantra‘, folktales from different languages and stories from contemporary children’s books can all be filmed or animated in a compelling way.
It is not as if we lack imagination, creative resources or technological prowess but there is definitely a dilution in interest. We need bigger budgets for sure but also a lot of heart, purpose and passion. Our generation still fondly remembers shows like ‘Malgudi Days’ and veteran animator and filmmaker Bhimsain’s animated shorts like ‘Ek Anek Aur Ekta’ and the series ‘Vartmaan’ which was one of the first Indian animated series with 3D animation. We can definitely learn from our veterans and expand the vocabulary of infotainment for children.
There is a vacuum now that is not just financial but philosophical and we need to go back to the basics in order to create entertaining and enriching cinema for children once again.
The author is a seasoned producer who is well-known for movies like Section 375, Bazaar, Sarkar 3, Thank God, Total Dhamaal, Big Bull, and Chehre, among others.
