They might be small but they draw a lot of attention, be it in real or on the reel. Apart from the usual women-centric melodramas, comedy acts, reality and weekend shows, children-oriented programmes have turned out to be a huge hit. With popularity and demands for kids shows soaring to a new high, almost all the leading Kannada entertainment TV channels have come up with their series of shows, and altogether there are more than half-a-dozen special programmes completely dedicated to the kids by the kids especially with summer vacations around. Bengaluru Chronicle reports on the little mania.
“Earlier shows like Chinnari Chilipili and Chota Champions where the shows which revolved around toddlers (who would accompany their parent) playing fun games. Singing reality shows such as Little Champs, where children from a certain age group would participate soon became popular. However, it was in the recent times, new of shows involving kids exceeded of expectations. And with sponsors backing them solidly, several programmes specially made for kids, are popular,” says Ashwini, a TV Research analyst.
Beyond just shows, the TV channels have also started creating special TV serials, wherein children took the central roles and the entire mega journey revolved around them. Serials such as Kinnari, Anjali, Neeli, Ganga and even Nandini have kids playing prominent roles. However, so far, for reasons best known to them, the protagonist is always a girl, and boys play a supportive role.
Even reality shows such as Drama Juniors, wherein a bunch of talented children perform various challenging acts are one of the top rated shows in recent times. Sensing the popularity of the show, Zee Kannada is back again with the same team of children by pairing them with senior contestants from Comedy Khiladigalu, for the new shows titled Khiladi Kutumba.
“Another best in recent past has been the Super Minute reality show’s Scholarship edition. The show which is based on the hit International game show — Minute to Win it, involved only adults. The show anchored by Golden Star Ganesh has had a tiny twist this summer as it now includes children from various select schools across the state to compete with each other and win a decent scholarship amount. After several rounds of competition, the Scholarship edition has reached the final stage with Hubli Vs Bangalore teams playing the finals,” said Colors Kannada TV. Watch the finale episode on 6th and 7th at 9 Pm.
—SSM
