by Taran Adarsh

You don't require a crystal ball to predict the fate of DETECTIVE NAANI. But what concerns me is the apathy towards kiddie films in India.

In the West, the dream merchants are well aware of their target audience. In fact, kids and youth contribute enormously to the booty there. If you look at the kind of business these ventures, especially animation films, have done, you'd be alarmed.

We are well aware of youth power in India [even politicians must've realised it, post elections], but it's the kids we don't give a damn about. Our target audience has always been youth, not kids. In fact, most film-makers don't even think of kids while making/marketing their films.

I'd say the TV folks are far more sharp and smart than film folks. We've a number of television channels dedicated to kids [and kids at heart] and from what I learn from friends in the TV industry, they're heavily patronised by kids.

So why don't kiddie films find audience in India? Are film-makers to blame or kids, who're indifferent to the kiddie films produced by Bollywood?

I am running out of patience. Sorry, I've run out of patience. I mean, it's almost two months now and there's no solution yet. The first quarter [January to March] was pathetic and all hopes were on April and May -- the summer vacations -- to recoup and recover, but the no-show has only added to our woes.

Now there's World Cup [cricket matches] in June, a bigger opposition than IPL. Which means, major releases are ruled out in June, even if the two sides shake hands. That, in turn, means things would only brighten from July onwards, provided the content is patronised by viewers.

My heart goes out to all film-makers -- makers of low-cost and medium-budget films specifically -- who're biting their nails in anxiety. Just calculate the kind of revenue we are losing each week.

How many more Black Fridays will we have to bear?