Recently Sony TV released a new show Pehredaar Piya Ki which was called out for being regressive and promoting child marriage. The story of the show comprises of a 9-year-old boy, played by Affan Khan who is married to an 18-year-old girl, played by Tejaswi Prakash Wayangankar, who becomes his Pehredaar, the show takes wince to a whole new level. The serial became news after it showed a first-night sequence and a honeymoon sequence between the kid and the teenager.
The serial was criticised by the public so much that the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) asked the makers to change the time slot from 8.30 pm to 10 pm and even run a disclaimer saying the show doesn’t promote child marriage. Not just this Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani had to ban it later. Sony had also released an official statement on taking the show off-air stating: “Effective 28th August 2017, we are pulling off our program, 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, new shows. We are grateful to all the artists, producers and fans of our shows and request you to graciously support the viewership of our newer ventures.”
The serial going off air comes as a huge shock to the cast and crew.
