Jaaved Jaaferi calls out parents who make children go over the top for attention: ‘Bachon ko adult banane ki koshish mat kijiye’

In an industry where viral moments can make or break a child's entry into the spotlight, it takes a certain kind of courage to say what everyone else is thinking. Jaaved Jaaferi, one of Bollywood's most respected dancer-actors and a judge on 'India's Best Dancer Season 5', did exactly that.In a behind-the-scenes conversation with Filmygyan during the shoot of the show, Jaaved Jaaferi did not mince his words about a trend that has been quietly bothering him for a while: parents who push their young children into performing in ways that strip them entirely of their childhood.Speaking candidly during the interaction, Jaaved Jaaferi said, "Bacchon ko adult banane ki koshish na kijiye unki umar se pehle. Suddenly, you put choti bachchi ko khoob ajeeb sa makeup karke, uh uh kar rahi hai. Aur maine bola, bacchon ko kyun kara rahe ho aisa aap." (Don't try to make children into adults before their time. You suddenly put strange, heavy makeup on a little girl and have her do these moves. And I said, Why are you making children do this?) The frustration in his words was unmistakable. He was not talking about talent or training. He was talking about the moment a parent decides that their child needs to look, move, and perform like an adult to be taken seriously. That decision, he made clear, sits entirely with the parents, and it is one he deeply disagrees with.When the interviewer asked whether he still calls it out in the moment, Jaaved Jaaferi did not hesitate. "See, there are smart kids, and there are over-smart kids. Smart achha hai, be smart, don't be over-smart. To kai log samajhte hain ki over-smart banne se matlab humko zyada popular ho jayenge. Main dekhta hun kabhi kabhi shows mein bhi, reels mein bhi. Toh main toh seedha bol deta hun, let's just keep that, you know." (There are smart kids, and there are over-smart kids. Being smart is great, but don't be over-smart. Many people think that being over-smart means they will become more popular. I see it sometimes on shows and on reels too. And I just say it straight — let's just keep it real, you know.) He said it plainly and without apology. The distinction he drew between being genuinely smart and performing over-smartness for attention is one that applies just as much to the parents pushing the narrative as it does to the children living it.What Javed Saab raised is not a new conversation, but it is one that rarely gets said this directly by someone sitting inside the system. Reality television and social media reels have created an environment where children are increasingly being packaged as mini adults, dressed, styled, and choreographed to look older, bolder, and more attention-grabbing than their age warrants. The adults making those decisions are rarely the children themselves. And that is precisely the point Javed Saab was making. Talent does not need to be dressed up in inappropriate makeup or mature gestures to be noticed. If it is real, it will speak for itself. And if the only way to get noticed is to stop looking like a child, perhaps the problem is not with the child at all.