Television not a child's play

Everybody likes to see little kids entertain with their comic acts or dancing skills on the stage. But what most don’t see is that in the process, the kid is probably being denied a childhood. There’s are an increasing number of shows on television itself that highlight a kid as the central character and has the kid sing, dance and preen at all times. Often, pursuing their parents’ dreams and being over worked by the channel, a kids  life is hardly glamorous and fun. While money is always the catch, it may not always be worth it. The topic has been debatable since quite sometime and we got a few TV personalities to share their views on children working in daily soaps, for starters.

Nuper Alankar who plays Jannat Zubair’s mother in Phulwa says, “Children who start acting at a young age surely grow up faster. But as long as they manage acting and studies, it’s fine. Especially if they enjoy acting. Jannat is extremely well-taken care of on the sets. She has a separate room and the production house really pampers her and she enjoys coming on the set as much as she enjoys her school.” The producer of the show Yash Patnaik says, “Children who are talented should join the industry by choice and not because they are forced into it. Children are taken good care of by production houses today.”
 

Actor Vindu Dara Singh says, “I don’t think kids acting in shows damages their personalities in any way. It is great that parents encourage their children to do what they are good at and if it is acting, so be it. Sridevi is a prime example of child artist going on to be a great one and even I did child roles as a kid.” Actor Akshay Sethi who plays Deepak in Sasural Genda Phool does not have a fixed view on this. He says, “I have a very mixed opinion. It’s wrong to force a kid to act. But it’s good if the child is working willingly.”