THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sitcoms are a vital part of the Malayalam entertainment industry and child actors provide the viewers fun. But what goes behind the screen is beyond anyone's imagination.
Child artists are forced to spend their entire day on the serial sets filming for hours violating child rights. The parents are turning a blind eye to their childhood and proper education while yearning for fame and money.
This sorry state of affairs has come to the fore with with parents raising complaints to the authorities, including the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW).
Recently, the council received several complaints from the parents against a leading entertainment channel launched recently in Kerala for non-payment of remuneration and other child rights violations.
A child, who was the lead character in a drama series, said, “I have a passion for acting and never thought I will have to cope with so much. They make me work for over 19 hours. Most of the days, the shooting will go on till 1 a.m. and they will make me do the dubbing during the wee hours. The deadlines are so tight and I get only a few hours for sleep as the next schedule starts at 6 a.m. The food was also very bad,” he said.
“I am from Palakkad and my father accompanies me. I have decided not to act in drama series any more. They were very rude and mistreated me several times,” said the actor, one among the many who have gone through similar ordeals.
The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 has laid down rules and regulations for the employment of children in the entertainment industry. As per the rules, no child shall work for more than three hours before he or she has had an interval for at least one hour.
Child Council general secretary S.P. Deepak said, “the parents are after popularity and push their children beyond limits denying them a normal childhood. They are made to do inappropriate scenes on screen and work for long hours which is a clear violation. The parents often ignore the basic rights of the children,” said Deepak. The council will take up this issue with the Kerala State Child Rights Commission to check the violations, he added.
The mother of another child who filed a complaint with the Child Council said that her 12-year-old daughter, who acted in a drama series, was not given any remuneration. “We are from Mavelikkara and I take my daughter to the shooting location in Thiruvananthapuram. She acted in almost 162 episodes of the series but was not paid even a penny. My daughter has a talent and I wanted to encourage her to realise her dream. They exploited our passion. We spend a lot in travelling and even for accommodation,” she said.
Member of Kerala State Child Rights Commission C.J. Anthony blamed the parents for the situation.
“Obviously there are other platforms for showcasing the skills of their children. They should think how acting in a drama series helps the development of their children. This is no art form and it is purely business. Even engaging a child for labour in other households is considered hazardous under the child labour Act,” he added.
Former member of Child Rights Commission J. Sandhya said the authorities should monitor the violations happening in the entertainment industry.
“If the parents are also part of the exploitation, the authorities should act. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued guidelines to regulate child participation in TV series or other shows. The authorities should take immediate steps to enforce the guidelines. There are grey areas in the guidelines which need to be amended considering the present scenario,” said Sandhya.
K. Bahuleyan Nair, state coordinator of Thanal – an initiative of Kerala State Council for Child Welfare – said that the helpline number ‘1517’ had received multiple complaints relating to exploitation in the TV industry. “We have received over 3,000 complaints since the launch of the helpline number,” he said.
