The end of summer movie magic: No country for children’s cinema?

Remember how, when summer vacations began, you’d grab a cool drink and a plate of snacks, settle in, and watch a film made just for children? Those afternoons — filled with laughter, wonder, and wide-eyed imagination — shaped our summers in ways we didn’t fully realise at the time. Cinema wasn’t just entertainment; it was a shared ritual.Some of the Hindi favourites included Makdee (2002), Taare Zameen Par (2007), and Bhoothnath (2008). This wasn’t confined to one or two languages. Kannada classics included Putani Agent 123 (1979), Bettada Hoovu (1985), Chinnari Mutha (1993), and C/o Footpath (2006). Malayalam cinema gave us My Dear Kuttichathan (1984), Manu Uncle (1988), Uncle Bun (1991), and Ayyappantamma Neyyappam Chuttu (2000). Telugu films like Little Soldiers (1996) and Devullu (2000), and Tamil films such as Raja Chinna Roja (1989), Anjali (1990), Pasanga (2009), and Kaaka Muttai (2014), ensured that children saw their own worlds reflected on screen. Children’s films once held a cherished place in Indian cinema. They weren’t just entertaining — they were formative. Today, despite India producing films at an unprecedented scale, children’s cinema has nearly disappeared. Theatres are dominated by spectacle and star power, leaving little room for stories told from a child’s perspective.Even now, films like Boong(2024), a Manipuri-language production, continue to gain international recognition, travelling to prestigious festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. Yet, such examples remain few and far between.'Content overload has changed how children watch films globally’Kannada actor Vijay Raghavendra, a former child star known for Chinnari Mutha (1993), says the shift in children’s viewing habits is not limited to India but reflects a global trend. “It is not just in India; it has become a global issue. Back in the day, we had fantasies, cartoons and animated films for children that were high in quality and also mindful of the kind of information they shared,” he says.Vijay points out that today’s children are growing up in a vastly different media environment. “There is an information surge because of easy access to the internet, gadgets and multiple platforms. Children now have their own designated Netflix profiles within family accounts and can watch anything they want, whenever they want. It’s not like how we waited for days to catch a film on television or rented CDs during vacations,” he explains. According to him, this constant access has reduced the sense of anticipation. “There is no real hunger for content anymore because it is being fed continuously,” he adds. He also notes that even when children’s films are made, they struggle to find audiences, often remaining confined to film festivals — highlighting a larger issue of distribution and visibility.Is there a market for children’s films in the OTT era?Sridevi Rao, producer of the National Award-winning Tamil animated children’s film Inimey Nangathan (2007), believes the surge in OTT content has only deepened the uncertainty around children’s cinema. “Nowadays, even many regular features aren’t getting a theatrical release. Earlier, there were films built around characters like Chhota Bheem that clearly appealed to children. Today, we hardly see that. Instead, there’s an overwhelming amount of content available for kids, even on YouTube. So, what we should make for them itself becomes a question mark. And even if you do make a children’s film, who is going to buy and distribute it?” She adds that films like Pasanga (2009) found success because they resonated with entire families, hinting that purely children-centric films may no longer be commercially viable in the current landscape.‘Children’s films struggle as distribution, star power dry up’Vinesh Vishwanath, director of the Malayalam film Sthanarthi Sreekuttan (2024), says one of the biggest challenges for children’s cinema today is finding distributors. “It is hard to find distributors for children’s films, so filmmakers are not keen to make them,” he explains. He points out that Malayalam cinema once had a thriving ecosystem for children’s films, citing classics like My Dear Kuttichathan (1984) and Manu Uncle (1988). “Even superstars like Mammootty and Mohanlal have done children’s films. Today, we cannot get saleable faces for such movies. As a result, there is a lack of contemporary content in the space. If you want to screen films in schools today, we are still relying on those older titles,” he says.‘Post-pandemic viewing shift deepens crisis for children’s films’Telugu filmmaker Nandini Reddy says the post-pandemic shift in viewing habits has further impacted children’s cinema. “The entire box office landscape has changed enormously since COVID-19. Even films and genres that worked earlier have seen a reduced impact, largely because audiences became used to watching certain kinds of content on OTT platforms at home. Rising ticket prices and broader economic conditions have only reinforced habits that were formed during the pandemic,” she says.She adds that this shift has made an already niche space even more vulnerable. “Children’s films have always been a niche segment, and this space has been further affected by the sheer number of viewing options now available — from YouTube to OTT platforms.”Must-watch Indian classics for children:Kannada:Putani Agent 123 (1979) Bettada Hoovu (1985) Chinnari Mutha (1993) Kotreshi Kanasu (1994 C/o Footpath (2006) Gubbachigalu (2009)Telugu:Sisindri (1995) Bala Ramayanam (1996) Little Soldiers (1996) Devullu (2000)Tamil: Raja Chinna Roja (1989) Anjali (1990) Pasanga (2009) Kaaka Muttai (2015)Malayalam:My Dear Kuttichathan (1984)Manu Uncle (1988)Uncle Bun (1991)Ayyappantamma Neyyappam Chuttu (2000)Sthanarthi Sreekuttan (2024)Hindi:Makdee (2002) Hanuman (2005) Stanley Ka Dabba (2011) Chillar Party (2011) Inputs by: Anna Mathews, Shreya Varanasi, Roopa Radhakrishnan