New Delhi: Talk about child actors in Indian cinema and one’s memory goes back to Baby Naaz, Daisy Irani, Master Raju, Master Bittoo, Junior Mehmood, Master Aziz, Baby Shobha and many more who acted in Black and White films of the 1960s. Some of them rose to become successful heroes and heroines. In fact, child actors were a prominent part of the film industry as many child-centric films were produced at that time. Who can forget Boot Polish, Teen Deviyan or Parichay?
On Children’s Day today, let’s take a look at some films with child protagonists.
Boot Polish (1954)
Perhaps one of the most endearing child dramas, Boot Polish was directed by Prakash Arora and produced by Raj Kapoor. It won the Best Film award at the Filmfare Awards and starred Ratan Kumar and Naaz in the lead roles. The iconic song Nanhe munne bachche teri mutthi mein kya hai… is played to this day.
Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke (1957)
Starring Romi, Satish Vyas, Mohan Choti, Daisy Irani and Jagdeep in lead roles, it won the National Film Award for Best Children’s Film. Daisy Irani also acted in Naya Daur (1957) and Bandish (1955).
Junior Mehmood
Any list of child actors in Indian films would be incomplete without Junior Mehmood, who started as a child actor in 1966 and went on to do as many as 265 films till the last count. He may not have been the protagonist but his presence in a film could not be ignored because of his ability to raise a laugh and also emote.
Anjali (1990)
This Tamil language film with child artist Shamili, written and directed by Mani Ratnam, was critically acclaimed, winning three National Film Awards. It was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 1991 but was not nominated. The film was remade in Sinhala in 2013 as Doni.
I Am Kalam (2011)
This 2011 film on child literacy was produced by the non-governmental charity Smile Foundation and directed by Nila Madhab Panda. The character of Chhotu, performed by Harsh Mayar won him the Best Child Actor award at California’s The Silent River Film Festival and also the National Award for Best Child actor. The film was screened in the market section at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival in 2010. The film was screened at the Independence Day Film Festival jointly presented by the Indian Directorate of Film FEstivals and Ministry of Defense commemorating the 70th Indian Independence Day.
Udaan (2011)
Rajat Barmecha as Rohan won many hearts in this 2011 film, in this coming-of-age drama film, which was also Vikramaditya Motwane’s first directorial venture. Udaan premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival and received a standing ovation. It was the first Indian film represented at Cannes in seven years. The film was also screened at the Giffoni Film Festival and the 2011 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
The list of such films is endless. There was Taare Zameen Par, Stanley Ka Dabba, Chillar Party, The Blue Umbrella, Bajrangi Bhaijan and Makdee to name a few.
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