Ever since the bizarre show, Pehredaar Piya Ki aired on television it has received backlash left, right and centre. If you haven’t watched it yet, the show is essentially about a 9-year old boy, marrying an 18-year old woman. And, it doesn’t end there! The cringe-worthy drama goes on to show the duo holding hands and playing a pillow fight during their ‘suhaag-raat’, following which they get involved in planning some sort of a honeymoon! Shocked? We were too!
What’s even more shocking is that, after the criticism they received, the producers held a press conference recently to defend their show. The backlash that has only become more intense now, gave rise to a petition, which was filed to ban the show. In lieu of the petition, Union minister for Information and Broadcasting, Smriti Irani has also demanded that action be taken against the show.
Producers of the show, Shashi and Sumeet Mittal
After the petition gained momentum, producers, of Pehredaar Piya Ki, Shashi and Sumeet Mittal, held a press conference, attempting to clear the controversy surrounding their show. Here are some things they said:
1) The producers reassured people that they hail from traditional families, and would never attempt showing objectionable content. They questioned the logic of viewers who signed on the petition and slammed the content of the show, without even watching it. “The controversies surrounding the show are based on rumours. One news channel asked for my reaction to a honeymoon sequence being shot in London. I was shocked. We don’t even have any such plans. All the answers lie in those 20 episodes that have been telecast. People should watch them and then come to a decision,” said Sumeet Mittal.
2) When quizzed about why they chose to film a ‘suhaag-raat’ sequence in the first place, Shahshi claimed that that the scenes were crucial for the plot. Explaining the importance of the absurd scene, she said, “Ratan’s relatives are against Diya and will go to any length to embarrass her in the name of customs. The relatives did this even during the mooh dikhai ceremony where they consciously make fun of Diya and the age difference between her and Ratan. Similarly, these things were done during 'suhaag raat' and 'honeymoon'. These scenes were two incidents where the family is attempting to make Diya give up, and go away. Diya understands that it is Ratan’s family that's trying to manipulate him and put them into an awkward situation.” She went on to add that it is a normal practice to decorate the room of your loved ones on their special night, and kids are part of the tradition too.
3) The producers were questioned about how they would handle authorities, now that the show has reached the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. On being asked if they received a notice yet, they said, “No, we haven't, and if we get (one), we are ready to give our explanation because we know that we have not shown anything wrong in the story.” What if the BCCC asks the makers to change the plot? Sumeet said, "No, we will request them to view the content before taking any decision. So far, we have no plans to change the plot of the show."
4) When the show’s trailer first aired, apart from fans, there were many television personalities who weren’t in support of it. One of them was Karan Wahi, who took to social media calling the storyline, “stupidity in the name of content”. When asked about their viewpoints to criticism from Wahi, Sumeet said, “It was irresponsible of him to say that.”
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