Television show Pehredaar Piya Ki (PPK), which revolves around an eight-year-old boy married to an 18year-old girl, has been in the eye of a storm for quite some time now. After TV actor Karan Wahi lashed out at it, an online petition was floated, seeking its ban. It was also reported that Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani had forwarded the petition to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council.

However, the producers of the show, Sumeet and Shashi Mittal, on Monday denied receiving any ban order from the government. “We have not received any letter or petition from the minister's office. As soon we receive such a letter, we will respond. Besides, I also feel that it was irresponsible on Karan Wahi's part to post his views on social media without watching the show,“ Sumeet said.

At a press meet, they said that people should watch the show before spreading rumours about it. Shashi, who has also written the show, said, “Most of the people we meet say that they don't watch TV. If that's the case, how can they decide if PPK has objectionable content?“

The producer duo also refuted allegations about the content being regressive. Shashi added, “I agree that a marriage like the one shown in the serial - between an eight-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl - doesn't happen in our homes. But if the show takes a time leap, the marriage will be about an older woman and a younger man, which does happen in our society.“

Later, talking to BT, he elaborated, “If a man on his deathbed asks a mature girl to look after his son whose life could be in danger by marrying him, what's wrong in that? He is a selfish father who wants his son to be protected.“

Well, couldn't the mature girl have adopted the boy or simply become his caretaker? Shashi replied, “This is a fictional show. It portrays circumstances where the father feels that just being a caretaker or mother will not help.“ When asked if the storyline aims at garnering good ratings by creating a shock value, Shashi said, “Our show has opened to good ratings, but not good enough for us to celebrate. If we had wanted to create shock value, we would have registered very good ratings by now.“

Also, the producers don't fear that the show will be banned. Sumeet noted, “The people who have reacted strongly comprise the internet generation; maybe I should call them trolls. Our real viewers are watching the show and they find it entertaining.“
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Despite facing backlash for its unsettling premise, makers of Pehredaar Piya Ki defend show, assert that they will ‘continue as planned’
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; August 15, 2017)

In the four weeks since Pehredaar Piya Ki went on air, the show has caused outrage across the country. While the plot that revolves around an 18-year-old girl getting married to a nine-year-old boy didn’t sit well with viewers for obvious reasons, matters got worse when the makers recently aired a ‘suhag raat’ sequence between the leads.

“The show is not trying to romanticise the relationship between the protagonists,” says producer Sumeet Hukamchand Mittal in defense. “People have complained about the suhag raat sequence. But, we didn’t show any lovemaking sequence between them. The two play with flowers and you can’t tell me it’s wrong.”

While an online petition demanded the show be banned — one that received 1.25 lakh signatures over the last few days, I&B Minister Smriti Irani wrote to the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), asking them to review the content.

But Mittal remains unfazed. “We don’t intend to change the script unless the BCCC feels that it’s not appropriate. So far, they’ve not given us any diktat, so we’ll continue as planned.” Point out how the viewers have expressed their reservations against the objectionable content and Mittal shoots back, “Have these people seen a single episode?” Ironically, he feels the show is made for family audiences. “There’s another petition that wants the show to continue, as it’s not corrupting anyone’s mind.”