Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

"Children's film movement fails to make its mark''

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD Dec. 14. The movies made for children are few and far between. And even these do not live up to the expectations? A children's film should primarily address the requirements of kids. But films produced in India fall short on this count, said S.N. Sasidharan, Director, National Film Archives of India.

Speaking at the interactive session organised by the Children's Film Society, Andhra Pradesh, here on Saturday, Mr. Shashidharan said it was very difficult to draw a line between films meant for children and others. Even well known children films appealed to adults. There was no comprehesnive definiation of children films.

Celebrated film-maker, Satyajit Ray, remarked as far back as 1979 that nothing much was happening in the sphere of children's films. Things had not changed much since then. Not many producers were coming forward to make children's films. The kind of children's films made in the past had a didactic element. They were loaded with messages. "And this has what strangulated the growth of children films'', Mr. Sasidharan remarked.

Even with Government patronage, the children film movement had not picked up. The Children Film Society of India should introspect whether it had done the job expected of it. Replying to a question, he said "policing'' was not the job of the National Film Archives. Its main concern was to preserve the films and not to take steps for production of children's films.

Referring to the demand for creating a national archives for children's films, Mr. Sasidharan said it was for the Government of India to decide.

He regretted that most of the films produced in the early 30s were lost as archiving started only 1964. At present the National Film Arcive had 15,000 films in its collection. Earlier, in his welcome address, M. Ved Kumar, chairman, Childrens Film Society, A.P, said the CFS was conducting workshops and film appreciation programmes for children to make their participation more meaningful.

He underscored the need for creating a national archive for childrens films and a separate children's film studio.

Later, children of various schools who participated in the first Asian children film festival were presented certificates.

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