Taare Zameen Par, Chillar Party & other Bollywood movies where child actors were the real ‘heroes’

By Shruti Dhingra -

June 7, 2022 - 3:53 PM IST

Child actors in a film usually become one of the highlights, with their adorable actions and cute dialogues within a larger movie plot, they often steal the show! Indian movies have seen one too any child actors that have made the movies superhit, especially with their acting. Be it Daisy and Honey Irani or Baby Naaz in the 50s, Neetu Singh and Sarika in the 60s, Master Raju in the 70s, Urmila Matondkar and Jugal Hansraj in the 80s or Kunal Kemmu in the 90s, each one of their characters are unforgettable.

Taare Zameen Par, Chillar Party & other Bollywood movies where child actors were the real ‘heroes’

Several films in Bollywood show child actors that are not only charming but also make the movie twice more entertaining. Here’s a list of some films with splendid performances by child actors that are bound to take you down the memory lane of your childhood.

Taare Zameen Par

This 2007 film is one of the unique ones that touched the subject of dyslexia and learning difficulties in children. Taare Zameen Par portrays a child, Ishaan Awasthi who struggles to meet the expectations of his father and the society. Ishaan, played by Darsheel Safari and the teacher who changed Ishaan’s life, played by Aamir Khan’s motive of changing mindsets of people towards children who are different was well appreciated.

Stanley Ka Dabba

The film, directed and produced by Amol Gupta highlights the asperities of those children who don’t live in the endearing shadow of their parents and must fend for themselves at a young age. The story is woven around a boy at a tender age who never brings his tiffin box to school. He conceals the reason for not bringing a tiffin box to school, but he has a group of friends who look out for him and share their own tiffin meals with him. The film leaves the audiences sobbing when Stanley’s story gradually unfolds.

Hamid

Hamid is a heart wrenching story of a seven-year-old boy from Kashmir who is haggling with the trauma of a missing father and a bemoaning mother. One of the most heartbreaking moments of Hamid is when the boy yells into a phone and tells the person he believes to be God, “If you can’t help people or make a difference, then why do you exist? Aap hain Kyun?” The boy is the main lead of the film. The story revolves around his emotional upheaval due to immeasurable loss and suffering. Hamid, played by Talha Arshad Reshi won a National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his heart-rending performance.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

The film starred superstars like Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. However, it was the child actor Harshaali Malhotra who stole the show. Her role as Munni, a six-year-old mute girl who is tragically separated from her mother left the audience weeping. The story further unfolds with her bonding with Salman’s character, Pawan who took it upon himself to safely take Munni back to her home. Munni’s innocence and Pawan’s honesty invoked love in the hearts of audiences for themselves.

Chillar Party

Directed by Vikas Behl and Nitesh Tiwari, Chillar Party takes the audience on a journey along with Fatka and his gang. The tale spins around Fatka and his gang who make ceaseless efforts to save their dog, Bhidu from the hands of a cunning politician who prompts a scheme to drive all stray dogs away from the city. The film gained a ton of admiration because the compelling plot and especially their plan to who walk around in the city to spread awareness to save their dog friends. The ‘chaddi march’ by Fatka and his gang became the most crowd-pleasing element of the film.