Short films, with a difference

Terms like personality development and leadership skills might sound little tedious and even boring for children. But, what if there’s a fun element to such programmes, that would make school students eagerly look forward to them?

This is what leadership coach Deepa Aathreya has been trying to achieve through her innovative initiative ‘Back to School’ — students would get a chance to make and act in short films! The programme, which will be held in the city soon, will be graced by prominent television actor Arvind Kathare, who will be teaching acting skills.

“The moment I start talking about the importance of leadership skills to kids, they get an aversion towards it. That’s when I got the idea of creating a session, which would not only teach them to overcome various challenges, but also let them pursue what they really like,” starts Deepa. The programme, which was already held in several schools in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, got a positive response.  Speaking about it, she says, “The best part about this initiative is that each and every aspect of the short film, right from writing to acting and directing, is taken care of by the students. This practice helps children find their strengths and weaknesses, apart from  enabling them to overcome stage fear and
shyness,” she explains.

Arvind, who has been in the small screen industry over the past two decades, is definitely a centre of attraction in these programmes. Having been associated with Deepa for five years, the Deivamagal actor shares his experience. “The moment when I see the students’ happiness after watching themselves on screen — I feel proud! When we did this activity down south, I came to know that lots of young kids were looking for such opportunities and we’re happy that we’re fulfilling their desire.”

Arvind is also of the opinion that him being a well-known face is an added advantage — “When the participants see a television celebrity, they get instantly excited and get hooked to the sessions. As I’m good at handling kids, teaching them nuances of acting becomes easy. In fact, a few of them appeared in front of the camera for the first time and even then, they did their best.” Speaking about the upcoming Chennai programme, he says, “This will be an exclusive class with only limited seats available. An added advantage for them would be that their short film will be telecast on a TV channel! We’re super excited.”