Twinkle, twinkle little stars

Why do parents allow children to participate in filmi dance shows? A look at what's not on, on TV, and for showbiz's little stars by Sugatha Menon

I confess I'm a rather casual TV watcher. Movies, songs, news and travel programmes. These are what I watch if at all I can lay my hands on the remote, but that's another story altogether. Of late while flicking through channels I saw children performing in dance-based reality shows. It made my blood boil.

Ever watched dance shows where little kids, mainly little girls are the main participants? It's appalling! I was left bewildered and angry; I wondered how parents allowed it! How come no one's protested so far? These are shows where little kids dance to songs which have obscene and cringe-inducing lyrics. The dance steps are copied from the original tracks, item numbers and what have you! To see kids gyrating and heaving their little bodies in an attempt to copy all the vulgar steps is certainly not my idea of entertainment! The costumes are also revealing and on their young bodies, it looks cruelly out of place. The make-up looks cheap and garish. And you have the audience and the usually all-male judges cheering lustily! How on earth can one allow this? There has to be certain rules and regulations in place. If you ask me, these shows are a paedophile's delight. However harsh it may sound, it is the reality and the sooner this issue is addressed the better!

Wonder what happens after these kids win the show? Are they taken on for more shows? Do parents have any say in the kind of programmes and shows the children will then participate in?

Child stars, it is said, lose out on childhood. Kids who grow up under the harsh glare of the limelight often grow up far too fast. Here's hoping that the kids don't end up winning one show and losing out on life!

Children are in great demand these days. With the increasing number of advertisements and TV serials, parents with smart and good looking kids make a killing. I remember shooting for a consumer durable commercial, during my advertising stint. The shot required a young mother to enter her house with her newborn. The baby we managed to get for the shot was actually a two-day old one and apparently after our shoot, the father was taking it to another shooting. The mother was at the hospital! We tried asking the father what his trip in life was, but the man was not in a mood to discuss it with us. Wonder what the child is doing these days? Maybe she's busy acting in serials or doing ads, compromising on school, playtime and childhood in general!

Darsheel Safary, Aman Siddiqui, Sweeni…these are the hottest star kids commanding huge prices. Maybe their lives are better organised, maybe they do not compromise on anything. But at the end of the day, what kind of a childhood does a child have, if she acts in a movie on adult relationship, where her character is called Sexy and she gives out romance tips to her much older co-star. What happens to children who endorse big brands and earn big bucks? What is the kind of importance this child attaches to money? What are children exposed to if they are spending more time in the company of adults from movie land instead of kids of their own age? After all the premature growing up, the loss of childhood, do they end up as confused and disturbed adults? There are far too many live examples out there who prove this. They end up as adults who are out of touch with reality. As even the brightest stars fade away some day, and the ones that fade before time often end up lost and without direction in the universe called life.

Do you agree that children exposed to glitz and glamour lose on out childhood? Click here and share your views.

About the author: Sugatha Menon is the Lifestyle Editor for MSN India. She is based in Mumbai and has been on the editorial board of several leading lifestyle magazines. People and lifestyle are her favourite subjects. When she isn't observing them, she's writing about them.