There were 145 films in the festival this year.
ActionAid is a world organization campaigning for a hunger-free world. It provides food to thousands of communities across the word.
In Stanley Ka Dabba, the theme of food for children was predominant and projected with bridled poignancy. Citing the reason for giving the award to Gupte’s film the ActionAid jury commented, “It’s not always easy to make people understand the connection between poverty and injustice so we found Stanley’s Tiffin Box (Stanley Ka Dabba) a fantastic tool to speak out about discrimination and the need to go ahead with the struggle against hunger. With this award we want to pay a tribute to Amole Gupte’s work, who linked the movie project with a special work with children, the real protagonists of the film and for the efforts spent to promote children’s rights and adolescents in India.”
Gupte feels it’s a triumph for cinema on children in India and for his work with and for children. Gupte, who was closely involved with another important Hindi film about children Taare Zameen Par, feels more of the A-listers in Bollywood need to support children’s films.
Gupte tells Businessofcinema.com, "When I see someone like Salman Khan pitching in for a children’s film like Chillar Party, my heart swells with pride. More power to the Aamirs and Salmans of showbiz. They can make a difference to how children’s film’s are perceived."
New children's films are fun for adults as well |
| By Radhika Bhirani But some feel that children's films should be only for their entertainment. "It's important to create a balance with a film that cuts through every kind of audience - children and adults. A film about children can be for the children and be entertaining for a family too," Shikha Kapur, senior vice president and head (marketing), UTV Motion Pictures, told IANS. A lot depends on the marketing of a film too. "A film, most often, finds its target audience on its own through word-of-mouth publicity. It's the marketing which makes a difference. The marketing mix of 'Chillar Party' was like a typical Bollywood masala film. Hence, it appealed to a lot more people than just children," added Kapur. In the last decade, filmmakers tried to lure kids with animation projects like "My Friend Ganesha", "Bal Ganesh", "Hanuman", "Hanuman Returns" and "Ghatothkach". But more recently, filmmakers have attempted to sell issue-based movies with children as protagonists, as kids' films. For instance, UTV Spotboy and Salman Khan's co-production "Chillar Party", a story about a gang of innocent children who stand up against a politician and save a street dog's life, tugged at many hearts. While children enjoyed it for its fun moments, adults liked it too for its message on the class differences in Indian society. The film also had a commercial flavour thanks to Salman's association, Ranbir Kapoor's 'tapori' item number "Tai tai phish" and multiple brand tie-ups - which helped it in drawing a wider audience. Earlier releases like "Taare Zameen Par", "Stanley Ka Dabba", "Kachha Limboo", or even Kannada movie "Hejjegalu" that won the national award for best children's film, had an underlying message tucked under the innocence and playfulness of children. Aamir Khan's "Taare Zameen Par" deals with a dyslexic child, "Stanley Ka Dabba" takes a sensitive look at teacher-student relationship and "Kachcha Limboo" narrates the story of a 13-year-old caught in a transitional phase of adolescence. "Hejjegalu" is about a young girl, who fights poverty and an irresponsible father to become a role model to other children. However, there is a school of thought that stresses on "just for kids" films without a serious sub-plot. Actress Nandita Das, chairperson of Children's Film Society, India (CFSI), feels there is a need to make films just for kids. "The producers, of course, want as many eyeballs they can get. But how can the same story and sensibility be for a six-year-old and a 60-year-old? I do think there is a need to make films specially for children to cater to their needs and aspirations," Nandita told IANS. In her review for "Stanley Ka Dabba", film critic Shubha Shetty-Saha, also supported light films for children. "While child labour is a pressing and immediate issue, a child need not be burdened with such an issue, while watching a film made for him or her. Even if they want to, they can't do anything about it. Why can't a children's movie be just that, without tagging a social issue along with it?" she wrote. But how would one define an ideal children's film? "A film that connects with the spirit of hope, curiosity, adventure and imagination that children instinctively have. A film that is neither preachy nor frothy and shallow. A film that can subtly equip children to understand the world they live in, but with lightness, optimism and joy," said Nandita. Though India is one of the largest film-producing nations in the world, filmmakers have hardly attempted to make children-centric films. In the past, films like "Masoom", "Boot Polish", "Safed Haathi", "Anjali" and "Makdee" have been made to cater to the kids, but they have "never been a priority", said Nandita. To combat the problem, CFSI was launched in 1955. The aim was to produce, exhibit and distribute entertaining and enriching content for children. But it suffered from a lack of marketing budget. However, it has new plans now, she said. "We at CFSI are trying to see how we can market our films, both through conventional methods and by thinking out of the box. You will soon hear about some really good films that we have been working on in the last two years," said Nandita, who took over as CFSI chief in 2009. Either it is fun film for children or the issue-based; the best part is that efforts are being made to make children films, which was a far cry a few years back.
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IIM-B student turns dabbawala, wife helps in venture
BANGALORE: This is not Stanley ka Dabba, but the dabba of a young Bangalore entrepreneur. You wouldn't associate a humble tiffin service with a student of the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. But if you are a Mumbaikar getting dabbas, then you would have tasted Dinesh ka dabba.
Dinesh Yadav, 35, a second-year PGP student at IIM-B, started his enterprise on Mira Road, Mumbai, in June. Lunch and dinner are provided in and around the road in tiffin boxes by their delivery boys. Lunch is also sent through Mumbai Dabbawalas to any part of the city, preferably on the western line of Mumbai.
What motivated him? It was during his summer internship in Bangalore when he was stuck in hostel with no mess that Dinesh realized the potential of running a dabba centre with home-cooked food. "There's a lot of demand for hygienic, home-cooked food that is not overpriced.
I had done an informal survey before jumping into it," said the NIT-Bhopal alumnus.
Dinesh handles the strategy, marketing and online support for the business from IIM-B campus, while his wife Rekha handles the operation in Mumbai.
With two cooks, two persons for delivery and another helper, Rekha looks after the cooking.
"I maintain the website. The queries come to me here. Everybody has a specific need when it comes to food and it varies with each meal. I consolidate that and send the final order to my wife. I wanted her to focus only on one area," he says.
Ask how he manages studies and work, he says, "If you are interested in something, anything is possible. Since I am in second year now, I have only two classes a day and lots of time to manage the business."
Dinesh's one-month-old business caters to 35 customers now. "There's a kind of confidence you get from being in a place like IIM. I understand consumer behaviour, pricing and other business management skills through my lessons.
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