By IANS,
Kolkata : The paralysis suffered by a 16-year-old girl after she was rebuked by a judge during a reality dance show has evoked shock and anger among people here who are upset over the manner in which youngsters are under increasing pressure to perform at the edge of the envelope.
Shinjini Sengupta, a class 11 student of a well-known city school, participated in the popular dance reality show “Dhoom Macha Le Dhoom” where she was reportedly scolded by a judge during a shooting May 19. After that, the girl slipped into a state of serious depression and suffered a paralytic attack.
“It’s really bad that people now-a-days expect a lot more from their children. They don’t understand the mental pressure their children undergo while participating in these types of popular reality shows,” said Sugata Bhattacharya of Howrah.
“The judges should also be very careful while passing comments on the contestants. They should not be harsh on the participants even if they fail to perform well,” he added.
According to Bhattacharya, “everyone feels their child would top all competitions, which is humanly impossible.”
Sunetra Ghatak, a homemaker in Kolkata’s Dumdum area, had similar views on reality shows.
She said: “It’s good that these reality shows are providing a good platform to many budding talents. But people should take it very sportingly. They should not feel that everyone will always deliver their best in the competitions.”
On Saturday, Sengupta was flown from Kolkata to Bangalore and admitted to the state-run National Institute of Mental Health and Sciences (Nimhas) for treating her medical condition.
“Shinjini is in the neurology special ward under observation. We have conducted some tests and are diagnosing her condition for deciding the course of treatment. She was brought here from Kolkata by her parents,” a doctor at Nimhans told IANS.
“The hospital’s medical superintendent will issue a medical bulletin on Shinjini Sunday. All I can say is we are attending to her. We are doing our best to study the case and will treat her accordingly,” the doctor added, requesting anonymity.
As she is weak and needs constant medical aid, visitors have not been allowed to meet her. Her mother Sibani has been allowed to sit at her bedside to interact with the doctors and help the nurses in taking care of her.
“She could not accept the trauma after she was rebuked by the judges in the dance reality show. She was eliminated from the competition. She came out of the show and told her mother that she wanted to cry loudly. After that, she fell unconscious,” her aunt Kana Ghosh said, adding the girl didn’t break into tears after being scolded by the judges.
Sengupta has acted in television serials and her first film “Bor Asbe Ekhuni” is scheduled for release in August.
“We are really shocked to hear this news. We had no intention to rebuke anyone. We did a fair judgement and whatever we did it was good for the contestants. We are not here to hurt anyone’s emotions,” said Ringo, one of the judges of the reality competition.
He said: “I talked to her parents and enquired about her health.”
Danseuse Tanushree Shankar, another judge at the reality show, said: “Shinjini was a great dancer, but unfortunately she was eliminated because of her performance on that particular day. We always want to see her back on stage.”