Railway Children (film)

Railway Children[2] is a 2016 Indian Kannada feature film written and directed by Prithvi Konanur. It is inspired from Rescuing Railway Children written by Lalitha Iyer and Malcolm Harper that describes the lives of children that run away from their homes, live in railway stations and trains, and grow up as criminals, despite their intentions being harmless and seeking only to earn a living.[3][4]

For other uses, see The Railway Children (disambiguation).

Railway Children
Directed byPrithvi Konanur
Screenplay byPrithvi Konanur
Starring
Manohara K.
  • Syed Pervez
  • Yash Shetty
  • Divya M. R.
  • Karthik
  • Parimala
CinematographyEswaran Thangavel
Edited byShivkumar Swamy
Production
company
Tin Drum Beats
Release date
Running time
115 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageKannada

Produced by TinDrum Beats, the film featured mostly non-actors. The plot revolves around a 12-year-old runaway who falls into the hands of a gang involved in illegal businesses.[4] Manohara K., Syed Pervez, Yash Shetty, Divya M. R., Karthik and Parimala appear in lead roles. The film premiered at the Mumbai International Film Festival in October 2016. Manohara won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist and Karnataka State Film Award for Best Child Actor (Male) for his performance. The film was also named the Second Best Film at the 2016 Karnataka State Film Awards.[5]

Cast
  • Mahonara K. as Jollu
  • Yash Shetty as Solution
  • Syed Pervez as Pappu
  • Karthik as Karthik
  • Srikanth as Railway child
  • Vj Shetty as a Police inspector
  • Hanumant Raju as Railway child
  • Divya M. R. as Divya
  • Satish Acharya
  • Naresh as phone booth owner
  • Parimala as Raju
  • Manjunath as Police Constable
  • Narasappa as Jollu's father
  • Akash as Railway child
  • Ramesh Babua as ticket collector
  • Basavaraju as beggar
  • Chinnu as new recruit
  • Mangala as Jollu's mother
  • Jyothi as NGO worker
  • Ramachandra Hosur as tea stall owner

Production

Railway Children was produced through crowdfunding by Tindrum Beats, a film production company based in Udupi.[4] The film was also supported by Don Thompson (producer, playwright) through NextPix/FirstPix grant.

Soundtrack

Chandan Shetty scored the film's music and for its soundtrack. The soundtrack was released on YouTube.

No.TitleLyricsArtist(s)Length
1."Railway Children – Rap"Chandan Shetty, Manohara KManohara K, Chandan Shetty2:30
2."Male Moda"Vishnumoorthy PrabhuChandan Shetty3:30
Total length:6

Release and reception

The film premiered at the Jio Mami Mumbai film Festival on 23 October 2016 where it competed for the Golden Gateway award.[1] It was reported that it would also be screened at the European Film festival before releasing theatrically in India.

The film was released in select multiplexes and single screen cinema halls in major cities in Karnataka on 22 December 2017.[6]

The film was met with critical acclaim. Wishberry.in included it among the 9 brilliant Indian films of 2016 [7]

DUBeat included it in the 5 must-watch movies of Mumbai Film Festival [8]

Bangalore Mirror gave 4 out of 5 wrote "for US-returned techie-turned-director Prithvi has lent it the mature tone while retaining the suspense till the end whose parallel can best be seen in some of the Iranian flicks."[9]

Kannadaprabha, a Kannada daily gave 4 out of 4 calling it a must-watch, and wrote in Kannada "The film has the ability to engage you and disturb you at the same time."[10]

Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5 and wrote " this film unwinds in its own leisurely pace, offering a strikingly real and scary peek into the lives of children who run away from homes and live near railway stations."[11]

Accolades
Director Prithvi Konanur (center), at IFFI (2017)
64th National Film Awards
2016 Karnataka State Film Awards
Mumbai Film Festival 2016
  • Nominated for Golden Gateway award
  • Nominated for OXFAM Best film on Gender Equality
Zlín Film Festival
  • Winner Ecumenical Jury Special Mention
  • Nominated for Golden Slipper Award For Best Youth Film
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
  • In Competition Best Film on Youth
Asian Film Festival Barcelona
  • Winner Jury Special Mention
International Film Festival of India 2017
  • Selection Indian Panorama Section
  • Nomination ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal
All Lights India International Film Festival 2017
  • Winner Best Indian Film

Festival screenings
  • Chicago South Asia Film Festival
  • Melbourne Indian Film Festival
  • Bangalore Queer Film Festival
  • Pune International Film Festival

References
  1. "Railway Children". Mumbai Film Festival. mumbaifilmfestival.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  2. Lewis, Peter (15 January 2017). "Railway Children Kannada… The Producer's Comments…". railtube.info. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  3. "India's Railway Children". The Pioneer. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. "'Railway Children' for Mumbai International Film Festival". The Hindu. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  5. Khajane, Muralidhara (11 April 2017). "Amaravathi scores a hat trick at State film awards". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  6. "4 National Awards for Kannada films". The New Indian Express. 8 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. "Wishberry, India's No.1 Crowdfunding platform for creative artists".
  8. "5 Must-Watch Films from the Mumbai Film Festival 2016". 5 November 2016.
  9. "Railway children movie review: A gripping narrative of survival".
  10. "Kannadaprabha ePaper: Kannada Newspaper | Online Kannada ePaper | Daily Newspaper Common Supplement Edition". kpepaper.asianetnews.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  11. "Railway Children Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
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