Like ‘Kahaani 2’, 10 films that touched upon the issue of child abuse
Sensitive as the issue is, here are 10 films around the world that touched upon it in some way or another
New Delhi: Director Sujoy Ghosh’s second instalment of the famous thriller franchise, Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh, which opened to Rs4.25 crore last Friday is the rare Hindi film focusing on child abuse in a country that has, in many ways, only started to acknowledge its existence. Sensitive as the issue is, here are 10 films around the world that touched upon it in some way or another.
1. Highway (2014): Imtiaz Ali’s drama on Stockholm Syndrome featured Alia Bhatt as a rich kidnapped girl traumatised by childhood experiences. Bhatt won much critical acclaim for her performance in the film that made Rs30 crore at the box office.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012): The Stephen Chbosky coming-of-age comedy drama was the story of a young student suffering from clinical depression who discovers repressed memories of being sexually abused as a child. The film which is based on an epistolary novel of the same name authored by Chbosky, featured Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller in lead roles and made $33 million worldwide.
3. I Am (2010): Director Onir’s anthology film had a segment called Abhimanyu dealing with child abuse, featuring Sanjay Suri, Radhika Apte and Anurag Kashyap in lead roles. Despite a release in multiple languages, including Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Kashmiri, the film remained limited in its reach, appealing only to discerning audiences.
4. An American Crime (2007): The Tommy O’Haver-directed film was based on the true story of a teenage girl who was tortured and murdered by an Indianapolis housewife in the 1960s. Starring Ellen Page and Catherine Keener, the film was not released theatrically and only premiered by the Showtime television network.
5. Page 3 (2005): One of the many themes tackled in director Madhur Bhandarkar’s expose of celebrity life and culture in Mumbai was child abuse and molestation. The film that featured Konkona Sen Sharma, Atul Kulkarni, Sandhya Mridul, Tara Sharma and Boman Irani in lead roles netted Rs8 crore in box office collections.
6. Capturing the Friedmans (2003): The HBO documentary focused on the 1980s investigation of a Jewish family where the father and son were accused of child sexual abuse. The Andrew Jarecki-directed film made $4 million worldwide.
7. Antwone Fisher (2002): The biographical drama was named after and based on the life of a young navy man who was physically and sexually abused as a child. The film that marked the directorial debut of actor Denzel Washington and starred him in a pivotal role along with Derek Luke made $23 million worldwide.
8. Monsoon Wedding (2001): Mira Nair’s cult take on the chaos of a Punjabi wedding was one of the earliest Indian films to bring up even a mention of the child abuse phenomenon. The film that featured actor Rajat Kapoor as a pedophile earned $30 million worldwide.
9. Radio Flyer (1992): The fantasy drama told the story of a young boy who plans to escape from his alcoholic stepfather aided by his brother. The film directed by Richard Donner and narrated by Tom Hanks made $4 million worldwide.
10. Mommie Dearest (1981): The biographical drama directed by Frank Perry was based on the life of American writer and actor Christina Crawford who was allegedly abused as a child by her adoptive mother. The film, starring Faye Dunaway, Mara Hobel and Diana Scarwid, earned $ 19 million at the domestic box office.
All figures have been sourced from movie websites movie websites Box Office Mojo, Bollywood Hungama and Box Office India
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