Mollywood warms up to films with kids in key roles

With the schools closed for vacation, it seems that Mollywood has opened the doors for more movies with children playing the pivotal characters. Already three movies are under production with kids in central roles — Kunchacko Boban’s '

School Bus

', an upcoming Sunny Wayn film and Tovino Thomas’ '

Guppy

'.

The latest to join the bandwagon is Kalavoor Ravikumar’s 'Kuttikalundu Sookshikuka'. While the movie has Anoop Menon and Bhavana as part of the cast, it’s Jo and the Boy star Sanoop Santhosh and Balaganapathy fame Siddharth Ajithkumar who play the central roles. “Their characters set off the plot with a particular incident,” Ravikumar says.However, he adds that it is not a children’s movie. “While it has its series of fun and feel-good moments, it evolves into a thriller.”

Of late, Mollywood has had several such films that have schoolchildren as key characters in spite of having superstars such as Mammootty, Nayanthara and Manju Warrier as part of the cast. Here are some such movies:

Jo and the Boy

The movie was billed as a children’s film starring Manju Warrier. But it turned out to be an inspirational film about not giving up on one’s dreams, no matter one’s age. Sanoop’s character provides the inspiration for Manju to accomplish her dream of becoming a renowned animator.

Malgudi Days

The film was inspired by a real-life incident in Nagaland about two school children, played by Janaki Menon and Vishal Krishna, who get trapped in the school campus. The movie also has Anoop Menon and Bhamaa, but it was the two kids who made the maximum screen time with eight-year-old Janaki winning a State Award for her performance in the movie.

Ben

The Vipin Atley movie, which was based on true incidents, was about kids but was definitely not a children’s film. It told the tale of a mom and son, and how unrealistic expectations take a toll on the child physically and mentally. While Anjali Upasana, who played the mother, won a State Award for her performance, Gaurav Menon as Ben clinched the National and State Awards for the Best Child Artiste.

School Bus

The film, based on real-life events, is scripted by Bobby-Sanjay duo and directed by Rosshan Andrrews. It also has
Kunchacko Boban and Jayasurya as part of the cast. Despite the heavyweights, the movie is told from the point of view of two kids and through them, the audience gets a peek in to the adults’ world. The film reportedly is about a child-missing case, which Kunchacko’s cop character investigates.

Bhaskar the Rascal

The movie has two superstars of the South — Mammootty and Nayanthara — but it was two

child artistes

who played the key roles in bringing the lead characters together. The former plays a widower while Nayanthara essays an estranged wife. Their children are schoolmates and their friendship leads to their parents becoming close.'

Jilebi

The movie showcased the clash of lifestyles between Jayasurya’s rustic character and his Dubai-bred nephews. The kids played the central role in the movie that emphasised on the fact that one should value relationships over a person’s financial status.
Guppy

The film has Tovino Thomas playing a civil engineer who comes to town to supervise the construction of a bridge. However, the central character is a 14-year-old boy, who makes a living by rearing and selling aquarium fish.

Sunny Wayn's upcoming movie
The upcoming film has Deiva Thirumagal fame Sarah Arjun playing a six-year-old school kid named Ann Maria. Sunny Wayn will be seen as a rustic youth, who enters her life by accident. How the two influence each other’s lives forms the plot of this feel-good movie.