New Delhi: Nagesh Kukunoor’s road movie Dhanak which releases this week centers on child actors Hetal Gadda and Krrish Chhabria. Here are ten Bollywood films with children as protagonists.
I Am Kalam (2011): Director Nila Madhab Panda’s film was about an underprivileged child played by Harsh Mayar who aspires to grow up as accomplished as former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. The film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and made box office collections of Rs.70 lakh.
Chillar Party (2011): The film featuring child actors Irfan Khan, Sanath Menon and Rohan Grover was co-directed by Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl and produced by Salman Khan and UTV Motion Pictures. It made more than Rs.6 crore at the box office.
Stanley Ka Dabba (2011): Amol Gupte (creative director for Taare Zameen Par) directed son Partho in the film, besides starring in it himself along with actors Divya Dutta and Raj Zutshi. It made more than Rs5 crore at the box office.
Gattu (2011): Director K.D. Satyam’s was a film on an underprivileged child passionate about kite flying. It featured Mohammad Samad in the lead role and made about Rs.23 lakh in box office collections.
Tahaan (2008): The Santosh Sivan drama set in Jammu and Kashmir revolved around a young boy played by Purav Bhandare. It made close to Rs.25 lakh at the box office.
Bumm Bumm Bole (2008): After the success of Taare Zameen Par, Darsheel Safary was seen in this authorized adaptation of Iranian movie Children of Heaven directed by Priyadarshan. The film made a little over Rs.1 crore at the box office.
Taare Zameen Par (2007): Aamir Khan’s directorial debut was the story of a dyslexic child played by Darsheel Safary who is nurtured by a kind art teacher at his boarding school. Safary became the first child star to receive best actor nominations and the film made collections of more than Rs.37 crore.
The Blue Umbrella (2005): Based on the Ruskin Bond novel of the same name, the Vishal Bhardwaj film starred Shreya Sharma and Pankaj Kapur in lead roles. It earned about Rs.36 lakh in box office collections.
Makdee (2002): While names like Shabana Azmi were part of the cast, Vishal Bhardwaj’s comedy horror film revolved around a young village girl played by then-child actor Shweta Prasad. She won the National Award for Best Child Artiste and the movie earned about Rs.71 lakh at the box office.
Halo (1996): The Santosh Sivan film tells the story of a little girl played by Benaf Dadachandji searching for her lost puppy on the streets of Mumbai. It won the National Award for Best Children’s Film that year.
All figures have been sourced from movie website Bollywood Hungama.
