Pehredaar Piya Ki: Petition demands ban on show; makers unperturbed, Tejaswi Prakash compares show to GoT

Mumbai: An online petition has been moved demanding a ban on TV show ‘Pehredaar Piya Ki’ that narrates the story of an eighteen-year-old girl and her 9-year-old husband. However, the makers of the show are least perturbed and the actors on board have defended the controversial content.

According to Hindustan Times, angry protestors and fans have even started an online petition seeking to stop airing the show. The report mentions that the petition posted by Mansi Jain on Change.org has been signed by over 74,000 people so far.

Addressing Information and Broadcast Minister Smriti Irani, the petition reads, “Pehredar 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.”

However, the makers believe that people mustn’t jump to conclusions.

According to IndianExpress.com, a source said, “It is such a futile attempt by people. The show is nowhere promoting child marriage nor it’s showing anything objectionable. The suhaag raat sequence that people have been bashing had the lead Diya (Tejasswi) actually standing up against the ritual. She also mentioned that the marriage is for a cause and not to enjoy the marital pleasures. When we are giving out such strong messages why do people need to file petitions? It’s an unnecessary criticism and completely unjustified.”

In an interview to IANS earlier, lead actress Tejaswi Prakash, who plays Diya or the Pehredaar said, “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?”.

Tejaswi also drew a comparison between the show to the most popular American fantasy drama ‘Game of Thrones’, created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.

"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," she added.

The show produced by Shashi Sumeet Productions stars child artiste Afaan Khan as the protagonist who needs a Pehredaar.