Little directors, big messages

Be it Vir Hirani or Siddhant Joshi, the little directors impressed the audience with their profound and message-oriented movies on day four of the festival

Day four of the 18th International Children’s Film Festival in Hyderabad witnessed jam packed halls Prasad’s IMAX, the main screening venue of the Children’s Film Festival. Among the movies that were screened on Sunday, those under ‘Little Directors’ package 1 and 2 garnered huge applause from the audience. Most of the movies by the little directors were message oriented, unlike the typical Bollywood and Tollywood movies.

‘Break the Silence’ by Siddhant Joshi created an instant impact on the children. The movie revolves around a school kid who gets bullied by his seniors and friends all the time. Unable to withstand pressure from his parents to excel in academics and unable to tolerate bullying by seniors, the young child tries to commit suicide leaving a note to his father. Soon, he realises that he needs to face life and overcome such tough situations. “When I was a kid, I was bullied by many of my friends. Many of us get bullied at one point or the other. I thought that a concept like this would do well and that’s how I made this movie”, explains Siddhant.

Not just movies with a message, the little directors also presented nail- biting suspense thrillers. ‘The Trek’ is about a boy who is an introvert and strongly believes in the existence of ghosts. On his birthday, his friends take him on a trekking trip. They end up at a haunted house and face fearful experiences. “I had faced a similar situation. I also used to watch horror movies. This prompted me to make a horror-thriller movie. I worked on sound effects as it plays a vital in horror movies”, says Ajinkya Hukerika, the director of the movie.

So how many days did it take to make the movie? He says, “Six months. My lecturer did assist me in sound mixing.” Apart from the suspense thrillers, the audience at the film fest also loved a movie on the need to conserve the natural resources. ‘Our Bit’ talks about the depleting natural sources on the earth. ‘If you waste resources now, you won’t find them later’ was the message.

‘Return Gift’, a silent movie by Vir Hirani, son of ace Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani took the audience to Charlie Chaplin’s era of movies. “I wanted to give a Black & White, silent feel to my movie and finally I achieved it,” says Vir Hirani.

“To be a good director, one should have a good concept along with script. Apart from the script, one should have good imagination and zeal to work hard,” said the little directors in unison while giving tips to the children.