For the few minutes of fame

The TV channels are flooded with programmes by the children, be it dance or mimicry, songs etc. These are the ones who will one day be the stars of TFI but at the moment they are drawing almost nil for the performances in the films. The child artistes draw 1000rs per day if they work in a film. A noted child artiste’s parent says, “a producer called me for my child. He is one of the top three producers in the TFI and when we told him about the last payment quoted, he said, antha endhuku meeku 1000rs ye ekkuva.” A director argues that 1000rs is quite an okay amount, it has been recently revised. According to the minimum wages given to the junior artistes, they need to be paid 360 rs per day inclusive of food, conveyance. These kids come under junior artiste category but they don’t appear on a regular basis, so one can’t demand a certain price. You can ask more if the film is a hit.”

But how many films are a hit this year asks Tammareddy Baradwaj, so far only Happy Days and Krishna has got money. The exploitation of children happens because the parents allow it. Many parents go around producers leaving the photos of their children begging for chances. Some are even willing to pay to see their kid on screen. Sad they don’t realise the kids miss school, stay awake in the nights, work at unearthly hours and get paid peanuts all for the few minutes of fame.