Super Dancer Chapter 3 In TROUBLE Over Judges Asking A Minor Child Artist ‘Sexually Explicit Questions’; NCPCR Issues Notice, Demands Explanation- REPORT

One of the most-loved dance-based reality shows on Indian television, Super Dancer Chapter 3, which premiered in 2019, has come under fire. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has accused the makers, Sony Pictures Networks, for airing an episode with inappropriate content that is currently being circulated on the internet. In the viral video, judges Shilpa Shetty, Anurag Basu and Geeta Kapur can be seen asking a minor contestant “inappropriate and sexually explicit questions” about his parents.

The commission has issued a notice to the makers and demanded that they take down the episode. In the letter posted by the news agency ANI, the NCPCR states that the questions being asked to the minor child are “inappropriate and disturbing in nature.” The letter goes on to state that the channel on which the show was aired has violated provisions under “Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the Information Technology Act, 2000.” 

Quoted by India TV the “content also violates the Commission's guidelines ‘Guidelines for Child And Adolescent Participation In The Entertainment Industry And Any Commercial Entertainment Activity’.” The commission has not only requested the makers to urgently take down the episode but they have also demanded an explanation as to why the child artist was asked inappropriate questions about his parents while he was on the stage. The NCPCR Chairperson added that an Action Taken Report (ATR) should be submitted to the Commission within 7 days. 

For the unversed, Sony Pictures Networks is yet to react to the entire ordeal.

Talking about the show, the judges select contestants between the age-group 4 to 13 and assign them their choreographers Super Gurus, who have to train them in different forms of dancing. Depending on their talent, the children either move forward or are eliminated.