MAITHILI CHAKRAVARTHY

a fundamental right for children between six and 14 years and hence says that shoots must preferably be planned during holidays. For child actors on TV shows the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) laid down guidelines in 2010 -2011 which state that “their rights, needs and development must be of primary consideration”. The number of hours they can shoot every day must be “age-appropriate”, with younger children spending lesser time on sets. Also, a child artiste should be given only one shift per day with a break after every hour and should be “directly supervised by at least one parent, or a known person and by a person with specified child-care qualifications”. However, news stories on have referred to child actors on TV in India who do gruelling 12-hour-shifts, sometimes getting to eat dinner only by 11 pm and often skipping school to complete shooting schedules. The same report also quotes an NGO with stories about how children are “being fed coffee and sugary drinks late at night to keep them awake” so the shoot can go on. Guidelines on the other hand distinctly state that nutritious and appropriate food and water must be given to the kids at reasonable hours.

“It needs to be remembered that, by and large, children do not join the industry of their own volition. There is always an adult involved – a parent, or caretaker – who takes the decision for them. In the absence of any monitoring mechanism, there is every likelihood of child actors being exploited…” states the NCPCR report. It further requires that child actors should not be cast in roles that may be distressing or those that involve consumption of alcohol, smoking, or depict anti-social behaviour. Nudity in children’s roles is also strictly prohibited, while violence in scenes involving children should be avoided. In addition, children must not be forced to shoot if they are ill or injured.

Fourteen-year-old Kartikey Malviya, who plays the young Chandragupta Maurya