The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) recently issued a notice to the makers of the reality show Super Dancer3 for airing ‘inappropriate content’ in one of its episodes during 2018-19. A segment in the video, where a child contestant is asked inappropriate questions about his parents by the judges, went viral on social media.

The Commission sought an explanation from the channel and also demanded that the content be removed from all platforms. The judges on the show at that time were Anurag Basu, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, and Geeta Kapur.

When we spoke to Anurag, he said, “I will not defend this because I understand how embarrassing this was for the parents, and I am a father of two kids myself.”

Anurag said, “Super Dancer is a kids’ dance reality show, and children often say things innocently. We shoot with them for hours, and they say so many things, which are sometimes not in anyone’s control. I agree that I should not have directed the conversation towards something that led the contestant to say things that embarrassed his parents.”

The filmmaker added, “I also feel that we should draw a line when it comes to asking questions to contestants. It is important to be careful while interacting with children because they innocently say things that may not be appropriate. So, ideally, this part could have been edited, but that was not in my control.”

He admitted that as judges, they have a huge responsibility and said, “It is important that we, as judges, exercise this responsibility and be cautious in the questions we ask. I think after this (clip going viral), the kids, too, will be cautious while saying anything. It is important that such things don’t happen. This is my personal opinion. I am speaking here as a judge of a reality show and not on behalf of the channel. I felt it was my responsibility to clear the air because I am aware that this clip has gone viral.”

In its letter, the NCPCR had said, “The Commission has come across a video on Twitter from your kids’ dance show called Super Dancer Chapter 3. In the video, it is seen that the judges on the show were asking the minor child vulgar and sexually explicit questions regarding his parents on stage. Further, upon viewing the said video, the Commission observes that all the questions asked to the minor child were inappropriate and disturbing in nature and not meant to be asked to children.”

In the letter, NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo also said that an Action Taken Report (ATR) should be submitted to the Commission within seven days of receipt of the letter.