Sajal Aly in the series Dhoop Ki Deewar

On Friday, ZEE5 launched its Zindagi original, 'Dhoop Ki Deewar', in India. Across the border, the show’s simultaneous release was called off after the streaming app was disabled in Pakistan on Thursday. Over the past week, the series has been subjected to intense scrutiny, with netizens criticising it for promoting an India-Pakistan love story.

A source from the show’s unit reveals, “It’s unclear whether the disabling of the app is a pre-emptive step taken by the Pakistani authorities. There is a strong rumour that the show will be banned. The backlash has compelled our leads Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly to delete most of the promotional material from their social media feed. There’s a misconception that this is a love story.”

Backed by Zindagi chief creative officer Shailja Kejriwal, the Umera Ahmed-written story follows Vishal, a boy from India, and Sara, a Pakistani, whose fathers are martyred in a cross-border skirmish. Conditioned to see one another as the enemy, the two find themselves united in grief, leading to an unlikely friendship. Disturbed by the turn of events, Ahmed released a detailed statement, explaining how Dhoop Ki Deewar isn’t a love story but a “social tragedy” that examines the grief and loneliness of martyred soldiers’ families.

This is the fourth Zindagi original after Churails, Ek Jhoothi Love Story and Yaar Julahay, after the vertical was revived last July. The platform had decided to make the show free for its audience in Pakistan, days before its intended release.

A source from the platform says, “The release of Churails last year had sparked outrage, but the magnitude is higher this time around. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Pakistan had vetted the script before it went into production to avoid such a scenario. One can’t be sure when the app will be restored in Pakistan.”

The teams of ZEE5 and Zindagi declined to comment.