Child actors are victimised in Bollywood....

What can you say about a child of eight, a star overnight, when he refuses an award bestowed on him for his brilliant performance in a difficult role on grounds that he was the 'hero' of the film and not a 'child' actor? The electronic media went wild right across television channels the other day closing in on this wonderful little boy whose instant stardom has clearly gone to his head. Darsheel Safary, the wonder kid of Taare Zameen Par, insists that he is the hero of the film so why should he be chosen for the 'Best Child Actor' category by a weekly trade paper for its annual film awards this year? Shoma A Chatterji tries to find out whether the child actor is a hero, a victim exploited by his family and the film's publicity machine, or an unwilling martyr to media-hype...

It is amusing to discover the contradiction. A boy who does not understand what 'jury award' means refuses 'the best child actor' award. Is his response spontaneous? Or did his parents and family doctor it? Why weren't they questioned about the child's decision? Where were they when the boy, whose final exams are round the corner, was being interviewed by every news channel that jumped on the story for its 'man-bites-dog' element of sensation? Darsheel has been the media's favourite lollipop ever since Taare Zameen Par hit the screens across the country. He has been giving television and press interviews left, right and centre, appearing at press conferences and generally having a whale of a time. Shouldn't he be getting back to where he belongs - to his parents and his school and his games of football and cricket? Should he be questioned about whether girls' attitudes toward him have changed? Or, whether he likes girls or not, again and again? By the simple logic of a child's mindset, Darsheel ought to have been thrilled by the twin awards bestowed on him for his first ever film role. But no sir, he is not a normal child. The media has seen to that. He insists by suggestion that he would have been happy had he won the Best Actor award that went to Shahrukh Khan! The media just laps it up in sound bytes that may have overwhelmed you had you not been so shocked at its blatant violation of the simple ethics of letting a child remain a child.