Kids Pass, Films Fail

Bir has made critically acclaimed films such as Nandan, Lavanya Preeti, Adi Mimansa. These films have won national awards, critics8217; awards, have been premiered and appreciated at the Berlin Film Festival and on the television. But, they have not been screened at commercial theatres. The large body of children for whom the camera rolled, have remained blissfully unaware of the films. Says Bir: quot;We have a certain image of children in our minds and we make films confirming to that image. We think a child will laugh only if he sees a fat man slip on a banana peel. In fact, we have imposed upon children their personalities. We have set them in a groove. No escapes.quot;

He feels that a few film-makers and distributors have decided the parameters for a children8217;s film. Both adults and children have been fed this fare so often that their taste for anything different has diminished. And, of course, the distributors act as gate-keepers. In effect, they are the ones who decide what films the audience will see. quot;After seeing my films on television and at festivals, many parents approached me, asking whether the films would be screened in theatres or whether video cassettes were available. But the infrastructural help is not forthcoming,quot; he says.

And this is where the Children8217;s Film Society, India CFSI steps in. Sai Paranjpye, Chairperson, is realistic: quot;Marketing children8217;s films is difficult. We can8217;t blame the distributors for hesitating or refusing to buy a film made for children.quot; Of course, she doesn8217;t believe that a children8217;s film will succeed only if it has a popular star, quot;A children8217;s film done well with the proper balance of entertainment and education can attract audiences. Look at how well Halo is doing. It does not have any popular stars in it. All credit goes to Shyam Shroff for taking up its distribution.quot; Even Amol Palekar8217;s Kairi, which flowed around a girl but had adults acting with lessons for them, didn8217;t find a commerical release in Mumbai. She balances this statement with quot;you have to consider the limitations a children8217;s film has. Little children, obviously, have to be taken by their parents to the theatres and if the film is a through-and-through children fare, the adults are bound to get bored. And so itfollows that they will not opt to view such a film. There has to be some element of a family or social drama in the film to keep the adults interested.quot;

CFSI has decided to be a crutch to help children8217;s films move. quot;We have reached an understanding with a few theatre owners. Theatres are booked on a six month basis and children8217;s films are screened every Saturday mornings. This has been successfully introduced in Mumbai and Pune and will soon be implemented in Bangalore as well. Children8217;s film festivals, screening of films in schools, video cassettes of children8217;s films are a few other means through which these films are sought to be reached to the target audience,quot; says the chairperson.

There are some technical difficulties as well. Shroff says: quot;Timing the release of a movie is important for its success and a children8217;s films offer very little scope in this regard. Such films have to be released only during holidays or during weekends. Moreover, there are no uniform holidays. While some schools have Christmas holidays, others have Diwali holidays. Which makes it difficult to decide the right time for a release. The best bet is the summer vacations, but buying the distribution rights of a movie and waiting for the vacations to arrive doesn8217;t make much sense. For instance, I had purchased the distribution rights for Halo quite a while ago, but had to wait till April before releasing it.quot;

Another debilitating factor is the state government ruling which cites that in order to avail 100 per cent tax exemption, the price of the tickets can8217;t exceed Rs 5. Shroff ridicules the rule. quot;Which distributor would like to earn less than what he would pay as theatre rentals?quot;

Shackles. Quite a few of them. Hindering the development of children8217;s films. But, of course, apart from these practical hindrances there are the intellectual blockages as well, limiting and regressing the quality of films made for children. As Bir puts it: quot;We might have given our children materialistic freedom, but intellectually, they are still bonded. Trapped in the spectre of thoughts and beliefs we have passed on to them. And our films mirror this very enslavement.quot;