Children make great stories, whether in books or movies. Here are our picks of some of the best children based movies made in recent times.
1. Hamid - 2019
Language - Hindi
Hamid was released in 2019 right after the Pulwama attacks in Kashmir. The story is set in Kashmir and centres around a young boy who wants to talk to Allah over the phone so that he can convince him to send his father back. He dials 786 on the phone and ends up connecting with a tough and strict CRPF Jawan.
The story also touches upon the sensitive issue of half widows in Kashmir and their quest to find answers regarding their missing husbands and get closure. The film beautifully depicts the unlikely bond between a CRPF jawan and the young boy through dialogue. This film was produced by Yoodlee Films and directed by Aijaz Khan. The film won 2 national awards this year for Best Film (Urdu) and Best Child Artist. Interestingly this was also the debut film of the Kashmiri child actor Talha Arshad Reshi who played 'Hamid' in the film.
2. Pahuna: The Little Visitors - 2018
Language - Sikkimese
Paakhi A Tyrewala's 'Pahuna' is her first Sikkimese film. It's a beautiful story of two Nepalese siblings trying to survive in India while they get separated from their parents. The film shows a small Nepalese family consisting of three children and their parents. This kids are forced to escape the village, while their mother stays back to check on their father who has taken a different route so that his family can safely flee. Pahuna is a story of two children who are trying to find refuge in a time of crisis and find ways to survive to reunite with their family. Pahuna is co-produced by the Children’s Film Society of India and Priyanka Chopra’s Purple Pebble Pictures.
3. KD - 2019
Language - Tamil
Written and directed by Madhumita Sundararaman and produced by Yoodlee Films, ‘KD’ presents a heart-warming tale of friendship between two unlikely individuals.'KD’ revolves around the life of an 80-year-old villager Karuppudurai who after losing three months of his life in a coma finds himself lost and abandoned. Escaping from a family who wants to euthanize him, he bumps into 8-year-old Kutty, an orphan who is fiercely independent, with a joy de vivre matched to none. The boy gives Karuppudurai a new lease of life as they set out on an eventful road trip to complete the octogenarian’s bucket list. The film stars Mu Ramasamy and the young actor Nagavishal. The child actor recently won the best actor award at the 10th Jagran Film Festival for KD. The film releases on 22nd November this year.
4. Fandry - 2013
Language - Marathi
Set against the tumultuous backdrop of caste discrimination in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, Fandry is the heartwarming love story of a 13-year-old boy. The film marked Nagraj Manjule's directorial debut and starred Somnath Avghade as the endearing 'Jabya' from the Dalit community and Rajeshwari Kharat as the upper-caste girl who he is infatuated with. Fandry released theatrically on Valentine's Day in 2014, moving on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film at the 61st National Film Awards.
5.Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Language - Hindi
The film - produced, directed and starring Aamir Khan explored the issue of dyslexia in children and the various challenges faced by them in society.
The film won the National Best Film Award on Family Welfare among many others and received wide acclaim from film fraternities in India and abroad.
6.Stanley Ka Dabba (2011)
Language - Hindi
The film -written, directed and produced by Amole Gupte revolves around Stanley(Partho Gupte), an underprivileged child, who cannot afford to bring a tiffin box to school everyday. However, his classmates are kind enough to share their lunch with him. This draws the ire of his Hindi teacher who resents the fact that the children would rather share their food with Stanley than with him. Partho won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for the film.
7. Chillar Party (2011)
Language - Hindi
Chillar Party was produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Salman Khan
This film revolves around a gang of innocent but feisty kids who battle fight against the evil devices of a politician who aims to rid the city of all stray dogs. Chillar Party has a wonderful message of empathy, compassion and respect towards both humans and animals.
The film won the 2011 National Film Award for Best Children's Film.
8. Lion (2013)
Language - English
Lion is based on a real life story of a man who sets out to find his biological mum after he gets separated from his family at a young age in India. He gets adopted by an Australian family after he is lost in the streets of Calcutta far away from his home. Dev Patel plays the protagonist in the film, what is also very interesting is to watch young boy Sunny Pawar who plays the role of young Dev in the film. His performance as a lost child searching for his mum makes him stand out. This film was nominated for 6 Oscars. The film is directed by Garth Davis and also stars Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara.
