Indian Broadcast ministry takes Sony TV’s contended show Pehredaar Piya Ki off air

Pehredaar Piya Ki has finally been pulled off air after much hulabaloo over its content among viewers and celebrities alike

Following a lot of speculation, negative reviews and questions raised on the Indian entertainment television network, a controversial TV serial aired on Sony TV, Pehredaar Piya Ki has finally been taken off the channel and off air by the directive of the Information and Broadcast Minister, Smriti Irani.

Read on the viewers’ demand to ban the show, Pehredaar Piya Ki

This move by the ministry comes right after the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council’s (BCCC) decision to move the airing slot of the show from 8:30 p.m. (family prime time) to 10:30 p.m.

Pehredaar Piya Ki showcased a strange love story between the lead characters of the show, a 10-year-old boy (Afaan Khan) and a 18-year-old girl (Tejaswi Prakash). The show went on to show a marriage between the two where the boy fills the girl’s maang (hair parting) with sindoor (a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony), not withstanding from showing a wedding night and a honeymoon involving them. The child marriage was shown to portray the girl’s commitment and fulfilment of her promise made to the little boy’s dying father that she will remain his pehredaar (protector) forever.

The show has now been moved to Sony’s web medium, Sony Liv as the makers of the show believed that it is better to keep it off the television platform as the late night slot would not do much justice to the story and the efforts of the cast and crew in putting the show together and instead keep the show for online audiences. The show’s last episode was aired on August 25, 2017. The show was supposed to air at the 10:30 p.m. slot from Monday, August 28, 2017 onwards but it rather went online. The Sony TV has since released a statement confirming and explaining the move:

“Effective from August 28 2017, we are pulling off our programme, Pehredaar Piya Ki, from television. While we understand that the decision to end this serial will be disappointing to those whose creative energies are vested in it, namely, its crew and cast, we (as a channel) are convinced that we will be better served by focusing instead on developing viewer interest in our upcoming shows. We are grateful to all the artists, producers and fans of our shows and request you to graciously support the viewership of our new ventures.”

An online petition addressed to the I&B ministry led the show to its final call. The makers of the show, had recently defended the program in a press conference where they stated that there was a sweet platonic relationship shown between the 9-year-old boy and 18-year-old girl and that the show that has been claimed to be “regressive” by viewers is indeed progressive. The cast and crew of the show are meanwhile, disappointed and in shock, as per reports.

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