“It’s the fault of the parents, who can’t decide if it’s right or wrong to send their kids to such reality shows,” says film-maker Shoojit Sircar.
The film-maker is disgusted with the format of reality shows that have kids competing; he feels that these shows are ruining children’s perspective on life
Until recently, film-maker Shoojit Sircar never had the chance to sit and watch a talent reality show with child participants. When he did watch a couple of them with his daughter, he got a big shock. With just one tweet, Sircar has started a debate on how correct is it for children to participate in such reality shows.
On Tuesday (July 4), Shoojit tweeted: “Humble request to authorities to urgently ban all reality shows involving children.it’s actually destroying them emotionally & their purity.”
While talking to HT Café, he says, “I’ve seen only a few of them. I have daughters who watch these shows regularly. I thought with the way these kids go and compete, just to please those so-called intellectual [judges], they end up losing their innocence. There is so much anxiety in them, their faces fall when waiting for a judgement.”
Shoojit believes that the child contestants may be treated properly by the show organisers, but the content they are made to present is “appalling”. “First and foremost, it’s the fault of the parents, who can’t decide if it’s right or wrong to send their kids to such reality shows. There’s no limit to this insanity, insensitivity and inhuman approach. It’s not always [about] the way the show makers treat a child, but also about the content that’s being shown. The way you talk and joke creates an environment and that matters a lot. You’re making fun of a [young] boy or girl, you are body shaming them, and then putting the kids out to get scrutinised,” says Shoojit.
The film-maker, who has directed films such as Vicky Donor (2012) and Madras Cafe (2013), is also unhappy with his Bollywood colleagues who judge these shows. “At times, I feel ashamed of my friends from the fraternity, who call themselves big choreographers, big producers and big actors — they call themselves artistes. How can an artiste do this kind of [a] show for money, where they say that they are nurturing talent? The psychological pressures created by these shows and the way the contestants are judged can have a destructive effect,” says Shoojit.
Channel representatives and celebrity judges remained unavailable for a comment.
You’re making fun of a [young] boy or girl, you are body shaming them, and then putting the kids out to get scrutinised. SHOOJIT SIRCAR, FILM-MAKER