“Pehredaar Piya Ki” was in news even before its telecast was started and as the story of the show unfolded, the wrath of viewers is increasing.
The serial allegedly promotes child marriage and showcases romantic sequences between a 9-yr boy and 19-yr lady who got married in unfavorable circumstances. There has been an ever growing anger among audience after the Suhaagraat and honeymoon sequences and it comes as no wonder that people have demanded a ban on the serial.
A petition addressed to Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Zubin Irani, is begun by furious audiences for getting the serial off air. Mansi Jain posted this petition on Change.org which was signed by more than 50,000 people by 4pm today.
Here’s what the petition reads:
“Pehredaar Piya Ki – A 10 year old impressionable little kid (“piyaa”) caressing and stalking a lady who’s more than double his age and filling sindoor in her “maang” is being telecasted at prime time -8:30pm on sony. (Family time) It is to be devoured by the entire Nation. Imagine the kind of influence it will steadily and perpetually infuse in the viewers’ mindset. We want a ban on the serial. We do not want our kids to be influenced by such TV serials. Join us in signing the petition to ban this serial (sic).”
It was definitely quite weird for viewers when the makers recently showed Suhaagraat of the couple. Even more shockingly, they will head to London shortly for their honeymoon.
Tejaswi Prakash, the lead actress of the show, reacts over this petition and this is what she told IANS,
“I think it’s really progressive. But again, a lot of people believe in judging a book by its cover… They love being judgmental and people have nothing better to do than judging somebody else’s work. Then okay, what can I do?”
People might be surprised to know that she makes a comparison between “Pehredaar Piya Ki” and “Game of Thrones” when she says,
“It also happened in ‘Game Of Thrones’… People love ‘Game Of Thrones’ and if same thing happens in ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’, then it’s an issue.”
On the question whether negative reactions had any effect on her, she says,
“No, I’m an actor. I just get my script, go on the set and I perform. Honestly, I’m not on a lot of social sites to be aware of any such comments… I am only active on Instagram. Nobody calls and says anything to me. It’s probably the creatives… They should talk to the creatives about the criticism.”
Here’s what she had to say about the content of “Pehredaar Piya Ki”:
“It’s not what a normal ‘suhag raat’ and honeymoon is like. Obviously, me and Ratan are not married to have babies. It’s different. Once people watch it and then they find it yucky or anything, then I would be fine and understand. There is nothing wrong that we have shown.”
She added,
“I think the audience will be able to connect and I think they are being able to connect only because of the strong character who is able to take decisions at the age of 18 and save his (Ratan’s) life for her own happiness… Also, we have shown the fact that she has taken the decision (of marrying him) and it even shows how much freedom she has got from her own family to be able to make a decision like that. There’s lot of strength we are showing for a girl of that age.”
If you take a look at the synopsis of “Pehredaar Piya Ki” on YouTube, it reads:
“Pehredaar Piya Ki is the story of an unusual marriage between a 9-year-old boy, Ratan Harshvardhan Singh and an 18-year old girl, Diya. Diya sacrifices her own dreams and willfully gets married to Ratan to become his protector. While Diya takes up her duty of a wife and willfully commits to the relationship, Ratan is enamored by her beauty and considers her to be a pari from the fairy tales he has heard from his Maasa. Though being a miss matched couple, both create a comfortable world for themselves. While 9-year-old husband tries to cheer up his wife Diya with his cute gestures, Diya keeps up the promise to protect him and nurture their relationship. Will Diya and Ratan rewrite the pages of history with their love story? Is age only a number when it comes to finding true love? Watch the unfolding of a beautiful fairytale as Pehredaar Piya Ki presents the most unique Jodi on Indian television.”
What is your take on the show? Do you also find its content objectionable?