Children are subject to a deluge of positive and negative influences every day that could have an impact on their mental and physical well-being. An increasing number of children are caught in the twilight zone where they do not know what is right or wrong nor have a sounding board to voice their concerns.
The power of films to form an instant emotional connect is well known as also the fact that films are a reflection of society. Mollywood is taking inspiration from real life to narrate issues faced by children in a fast changing technology-driven world where they have to cope with pressure from parents, peers and the teachers.
Actor Vipin Atlee is turning director with his debut offering Ben, which is based on a true incident. Vipin explains, “This film is about children and looks at how children become pawns in the hands of parents who want to use their child as a means of showing off. The child may be packed off to a bigger school with a tougher education system which the child may find difficult to comprehend or grasp, leading to a lot of mental tensions for the child. This is a mirror to many parents around us whom we all see every day.”
Child actors Gaurav Menon and Adish Praveen play the central characters. Vipin adds that this is not a movie for children, but about children and is a pointer for grown-ups to reflect on their behaviour to kids.
While the issue of over- zealous parents setting unrealistic goals for children is the premise of Ben, what happens when the children do not have parents to guide them? The P.K. Baaburaaj-directed film Gemini looks at the life of an adopted girl who suffers from some character traits for which she is shunned by society because of her erratic behaviour. Child actor Esther Anil plays the central character in this movie.
Continues Baaburaaj, “The child’s parents are staying apart which causes mental turmoil in her. A professor enters the child’s life and transforms her into a new person, thanks to his care and concern, she changes for the better. When the parents blame each other for the child’s behaviour, the professor gives them advice too.”
Baaburaaj opines that as a filmmaker, it is his responsibility to convey a positive message. “I did not want to show any form of abuse but wanted to highlight the plight of children whose parents stay apart and constantly quarrel!”
While these two films look at the child -parent relation, there is another equally important but fast disappearing bond in the lives of children — grandparents who have time to spend with the children and imbibe in them important values through stories.
Sunil Ibrahim, the producer of Ola Peepi says that the premise of his movie is about the grandmother-grandchild relationship influencing the life of a man (played by Biju Menon) who runs away from home as a child. He works abroad and returns home with his foreign wife and child.
Sunil continues, “The film is told through flashbacks when Biju was abandoned by his parents and was brought up by his grandmother. The film revisits the nostalgia of Biju’s childhood memories passing through his school and his classmates in the 1970s era. The film will be an eye-opener for the younger generation who would get a chance to see the fast-disappearing grandmother — child bond and see the kids enjoying the simple pleasures of life like sucking on an ice candy, writing on slates, flying kites, walking in the fields and enjoying life in the true sense without any competition of any sort.” The film, based on a true incident, has child actor Prayag playing the central character.
Director Rojin Thomas, who made the children’s film Philips and the Monkey Pen, is now making another film Jo and the Boy, which has Manju Warrier and Master Sanoop in main roles. Though the filmmakers are tight-lipped about the storyline, a source says that an important social issue is discussed in the movie.
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