Children’s film ignored at Kerala State Film Awards finds audience in OTT

A scene from the movie School Chale Hum.

For merchant navy officers Sreekantha EG and Adith US, the road to making their own film was long, initially they tried their hand at short films and later decided to make a full-length film after a break from work.

When their second film School Chale Hum, a Malayalam children’s film with fantasy elements, was one of the six children’s films considered for the 55th Kerala State Film Awards, they had high hopes. However, the statement came as a rude shock to them. The jury decided not only to award any award to any of the six films in the children’s film category, but further noted that “none of them were from a child’s point of view” and that “the young actors did not speak their age”.

Interesting concept

This criticism seems to be especially harsh on School Chale Hum, as a large part of the film only has children doing things like children. The film, which has an interesting concept at its core, is now finding its audience after its recent release on the OTT platform. While the film is limited in scope by its limited budget and production issues, it is still notable for the honesty of its intent and the seriousness of its main cast.

“The jury’s comments were a little shocking to us. But on the same day, the film was selected for a children’s film festival in Finland. This reassured us, especially since it was criticized that the film did not have a children’s perspective,” says Mr. Adith.

When it was decided to shoot the film in Sreekanth’s hometown Kannur, they identified Kammaran Master Memorial UP School, Morazha as a suitable location. When they auditioned the kids at the school, they found an ensemble of young actors who could fit perfectly into their narrative.

10 day schedule

“We were only able to film for 10 days at the school, during the holidays. For the first two days, a camp was organized for the children, which helped ease the whole filmmaking process for them and also helped us build a relationship with them. With clear planning, we managed to complete the shooting at the school within 10 days. Now we are happy that more people are finally watching the film. It is still a struggle for independent films,” says Mr.

Published – 05 Jul 2026 20:35 IST