ZEE TV rapped for “fat-shaming” contestant in ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – Lil Champs’

ZEE TV UK has been rapped by media regulator, Ofcom for a contestant being “fat-shamed” during an episode of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa – Lil Champs’ on 16th April 2017.

A complaint was received from a viewer who was concerned that a young boy who appeared on the programme was “humiliated for being overweight”.

The child performer was introduced by the programme’s presenter, “In the old movie of 1980, ‘Dostana’, Zeenat Aman asked Amitabh Bachan, ‘What is the problem in my clothes?’ Bachan said, ‘They are too short’ [laughter]. Our next contestant asked the weighing machine, ‘What is in the problem in my weight?’ The weighing machine said, ‘It is too much’” [laughter from the judges and audience]. (Translated from Hindi to English)

As the child walked on stage, the presenter said, “Please welcome and give a big round of applause for the heaviest singer of India: [child’s name]”.

The programme continued to take a light-hearted dig at the contestant for being overweight.

Asia TV, the company behind ZEE TV in the UK said “it did not intend to cause any offence. During the initial pre-broadcast auditions for the programme, the child demonstrated a great talent for music. When he came on the show, the production team, along with the child and his parents, decided to create “a unique, yet endearing character of a young pudgy boy who enjoys his food as a means of providing comic relief and entertaining viewers”.

It added that: there was no intention to cause anxiety or discomfort to the child; the scripted portions of the programme were rehearsed in advance; and the team constantly reassured him during the production process. With specific regard to the comments about the child’s weight, these were all “playful in
nature and discussed before and after the production”.

Referring specifically to the physical challenge involving the exercise ball, described above, the Licensee explained this “was an antic to foster comic relief” which was “very common” in Indian reality shows. In fact, the comedy aspect of the challenge was “based on the difficulty of lying on the ball, irrespective of his weight”. It added that the child had “a few repartees of his own, displaying his comfort with the comments being made”. For example, the child’s light hearted exchange with the judge, as outlined above, regarding how much weight he had lost.

Asia TV also stated that aside from the jokes about weight and food, which were “in the mutually decided spirit of fun”, the boy had been immensely praised for his singing talents and likened to Kishore Kumar, a singing legend in India. He was described as “very popular with his fellow contestants, judges and viewers” and has been put through to the next round of the contest every week “due to his singing talent”.

Asia TV concluded that in India it was often the case that jokes were made about weight “in a very playful manner within families and friends with nicknames often given based on one’s weight and this is mostly taken in good humour”. It added that in certain families, “being a bit overweight” often signified prosperity “as being well-fed implies one is financially secure and happy”.

The Licensee also made representations in response to Ofcom’s Preliminary View, which was that the programme was in breach of Rule 2.3 the Code. It argued that the audience and other programme contributors in the studio “were all laughing because of the comedic aspect of the physical challenge and not because of any ridicule being faced by the contestant. [The child]’s challenge of trying to eat a grape while balanced on a giant ball would have been comedic no matter what size he was”. Asia TV added that: “Whilst we acknowledge there were a few minutes of the show featuring a presenter making references about [the child]’s physical appearance, there was a larger chunk devoted to positive comments about his talent and background”.

The Licensee also said that “the child’s association with food and the jokes made around it were part of a creative track to promote better eating habits among children…the idea was to make children aware of health risks around excessive eating and junk food but in a playful and fun manner. The team felt that if the comedy was exaggerated and over the top this would lend to the comic element of the show”.

Asia TV also stated “we have taken note of the sensitivities and concerns expressed and will take greater care not to cause offence in future comedy sequences”. It added that it would provide “detailed Ofcom training to our technical team in India to ensure that we at all times comply with and stay true to the sentiments of the audience here in the UK”.

Ofcom concluded by taking into account that the Licensee providing training to its technical team in India to ensure that “we at all times comply with and stay true to the sentiments of the audience here in the UK”. However, we considered that the content did not comply with generally accepted standards for a broadcast service in the UK. Therefore, taking all the above into consideration, Ofcom’s decision is that Asia TV did not apply generally accepted standards and that this content was in breach of Rule 2.3.