'I'm against children being exploited for entertainment's sake'

He's not the one to mince words, be it on microblogging sites or in front of the media. Known for freely expressing his opinion, Shekhar Kapur strongly believes that children - despite their prodigious talent - are better off without an early exposure to the glitz world.

Pic/Satyajit Desai

In collaboration with AR Rahman, the 67-year-old filmmaker recently launched a social media platform for creative minds in the country. While talking about this project, Shekhar pointed to the ongoing trend of encouraging little kids on national television.

"I'm much against children being exploited for entertainment's sake. Not only that, I believe physically-challenged folks performing on stage is generally indecent. Different people have different point of views and I have my own," says the director of films like Bandit Queen and Elizabeth.

Interestingly, the award-winning auteur served as one of the judges on the first season of reality TV series India's Got Talent. However, he didn't repeat the act in the consecutive years. Turns out he wasn't invited back on the show.

"I've always been sensitive towards the idea of using underage kids and disabled folks for TRP. On top of that, I was very vocal about the way I felt about it so naturally, the powers-to-be must have been apprehensive about me," adds Shekhar.u00a0