Just like any other child, I have grown up hearing my grandmother tell me folktales and mesmerizing fairytales. I used to believe that the world could be a lot better only if we could learn something from these stories and believe that everything in the world has a happy ending. This is exactly what I have been able to do by being a part of Tata Sky’s ‘Active stories’ for children.
It is always easy to churn out stories for grownups as compared to children as far as visual information is concerned. But, when it comes to writing or designing for children, one needs to think like a child.
Of the four stories I came up with, ‘A Helping Hand’ is the story of a lazy eight-year-old boy, Munna, who is unaware of the hardships that his mother and sister are going through to eke out a living for all of them, until he notices something which makes him realize how selfishly he has behaved.
‘Chunnu and the Toyfairy’ is about an eight-year-old short-tempered girl who does not value her belongings and throws a fit at the drop of a hat. She learns a valuable lesson when, suddenly, a mysterious “fairy” arrives from nowhere.
In ‘Runjhun Smiles Again’ a five-year-old bubbly little girl suddenly faces something unpleasant and comes to terms with the universal fact that times change and, one must hold on to a positive attitude.
A mean thief who sets out to rob Santa has a change of heart and ends up doing his job in ‘The Christmas Gift.’
Initially, I just wanted to tell stories and make sure that they entertained the viewers. But, entertainment could not have been the only aim when it came to very young children. This limitation made me learn at each step of the project.
