Disheartened That Kids Feel Isolated And Then Resort To This: Amole Gupte On The Blue Whale Challenge

Filmmaker- actor Amole Gupte is disheartened by the latest teenage fad — the Blue Whale Challenge — a game that involves 50 deadly tasks and urges teenagers to commit suicide by the end of the challenge. He thinks that as teenagers are experiencing increasing feelings of isolation, they resort to the dangerous game.

“It is [the challenge becoming popular] happening because teenagers are getting isolated. They are lonely. That’s why they want a virtual world of their own. When you are a kid, and you feel isolated, you opt for things such as these,” says Amole, who has directed the recently released children’s film, Sniff.

The filmmaker blames the parents, as he feels they don’t have time to take care of their children. “The parents have no time for their children. There is no dadi or nani around these days, who can tell you stories, right from Sheikh Chilli to mythological tales. None of that is happening anymore,” he says.

“I mean if families, don’t look after the tender most member of their family, things can go wrong. Families have to inculcate a value system in the kids, and only then can the kids learn that stupid challenges like these are not a cool thing at all,” adds Gupte.

The 55-year-old, who has helmed films such as Taare Zameen Par (2007) and Stanley Ka Dabba (2011) among others, hopes that he is able to convey the right message through his films.

“I always try to make a film, which showcases the kids’ community. There are negative bratty kids in reality, but I don’t focus on them. I want to focus on kids, who believe that they can do something together. My hope is to bring about a change in kids through my films, so that they don’t feel lonely, and wait for some big whale to gobble them up,” he shares with utmost concern.