Stars should volunteer for children's films: Nitesh Tiwari

"Dangal" filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari believes there is a lack of good cinema for children in the country because producers are unwilling to invest their money in such projects unless a superstar is onboard.
Nitesh said if big stars volunteer for children's films, things will change for better.
"It is difficult to pinpoint why we make less children films. But I think there are two main reasons why children's films are not getting made.
"One is the commercial point of view and the other is the creative problem, there aren't too many people who want to back children's film," he said at a panel discussion at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The director said when they finished writing "Chillar Party", they approached many filmmakers but nobody was willing to direct the movie.
"They said there are 10 kids and one dog, there is no star. It was left to us to make the film.

"Unfortunately, a film's budget is decided not on the basis of the script, but on the basis of the star. The same script with a bigger star will have a much higher budget, the same script with a lesser known star will have a low budget."
Nitesh said films like "Mr India", "Koi... Mil Gaya" and "Krrish" were successful despite being children's films. He said more such movies are needed to make this genre viable.

"Producers in their mind start thinking about their recovery even before the film starts (goes on floors). If stars start acting voluntarily in children's film things will change... If big names attach (themselves) to children films and promote them, everything will be in place."
The session, 'Children's Films in Indian Cinema', was moderated by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Prasoon Joshi.
The panel also comprised Devika Prabhu, associate director and head of programming for Disney, Jetix and Hungama and, Rajiv Chilaka, founder-CEO of Green Gold Animation.