Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; June 10, 2020)

Clearly, gods are reigning supreme during the lockdown. At least, that’s what TV viewing pattern — during the Coronavirus induced shutdown — seems to indicate. So, while reruns of Ramayan and Mahabharat topped the TRP charts at the start of the lockdown [around March-end], the ‘religious reign’ continues even now. As per the latest data by Broadcast Audience Research Channel (BARC), Doordarshan’s Shri Krishna is the most watched TV show for second consecutive week. The top five shows also include Mahima Shanidev Ki, Mahabharat [new version] and Ramayan on various channels.

“To start with, people have been feeling low for the last three months, and so, these classic shows make them feel good, and also give them a sense of emotional strength. Plus, you can watch these shows with the entire family, and there’s a lot of nostalgia involved, too,” says TV producer Shashi Mittal.

Besides reruns of Ramayan and Mahabharat, a number of gods-based shows as Karmaphal Daata Shani, Uttar Ramayan, Paramavatar Shri Krishna, Vighnaharta Ganesh and Mere Sai - Shraddha Aur Saburi among many others have been running successfully on television during the lockdown.

“If you notice the pattern during the lockdown, people have gone back to not just old TV shows but also classic movies. As for out-and-out religious shows, it’s like going to back your comfort food when you are upset or angry about something. The sheer universality, relatability and the joyful nostalgia involved with such shows make people turn to them,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi.

Money-wise, too, mythologicals worked their magic. Apparently, six new TV commercials of a top dairy brand were launched during lockdown with the shows. “For any brand, this was the best time because of great viewership. The investment in Ramayana and Mahabharat was like a lottery. We got 100X back,” R S Sodhi, managing director of the dairy brand has said in an interview.

Lastly, a 47-year-old homemaker, Swati Paliwal puts things in perspective: “Watching religious shows give me a lot of mental peace, and it alleviates my tension during such stressful times. It gives me a feeling that all will be fine.”

As the Ramayan re-run top TRPs and classic shows return to TV, we look at what’s making them audience favourites all over again
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 5, 2020)

Back in the day, when TV shows such as Ramayan, Mahabharat or Shaktimaan had their original runs, they were the talk of the town. Now, history seems to be repeating itself. Many of these classic TV shows have hit the airwaves again and people are clearly lapping them up. For instance, the re-run of Ramayan on Doordarshan got the highest ever rating for a Hindi GEC show since 2015, when BARC started measuring TV audiences.

Not just Ramayan, thanks to the high demand, other shows such as Mahabharat, Shaktimaan, Circus, Byomkesh Bakshi, Shrimaan Shrimati, Buniyad, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Chanakya and Alif Laila too are back. So, what’s driving this demand? “Now, (due to Coronavirus lockdown) people have a lot of free time, which is also stress-free as far as regular work is concerned. Plus, there’s a nostalgia attached to these shows, as it reminds all of their carefree days,” says TV producer Shashi Mittal of Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai and Karn Sangini fame.

For trade analyst Taran Adarsh, old shows “will always be very entertaining and engrossing”. “Plus, they impart great teachings too. Now, thanks to these re-runs, our young generation can also watch them,” he says. Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar has a simple, straightforward reason: “Due to the Coronavirus lockdown, there is no new content or episodes. So, re-runs have to fill those slots. And today, viewers also don’t have many choices.”

For the shows’ actors/makers, the “relevance” of their work stands intact even now. “The content that came during the ’80s and ’90s is better than any saas-bahu serials… our show has always been educative. And that’s why Shaktimaan is relevant even today,” says its actor-producer Mukesh Khanna. Adds actor Rajit Kapur of Byomkesh Bakshi fame: “People who’ve watched the show 20 years ago are now showing it to their children. It’s pure, clean and wholesome entertainment. What appeals to people is that it’s simple to understand and, sometimes, simple is more effective.”

Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; August 30, 2017)

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Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 30, 2017)

Alittle over a month after its July 17 launch on Sony, TV drama Pehredaar Piya Ki has been pulled off air in light of online backlash surrounding its theme. The show revolved around an 18-year-old girl Diya (Tejaswi Prakash Wayangankar) who, compelled by circumstances, marries nine-year-old Ratan Singh (played by Affan Khan), a hotel heir. On his deathbed, Ratan’s father Maan Singh tells Divya’s family that the couple should remarry to make the alliance legal when his son turns 21.

However, viewers found the concept unpalatable and voiced their disapproval online, followed by a petition addressed to Union Cabinet Minister of Textiles and Information and Broadcasting (Additional Charge), Smriti Irani, demanding a ban on the show. The petition got more than a lakh signatures, forcing the channel to hold a press conference at which the show’s producers, Shashi and Sumeet Mittal, clarified their stand.

While they were reportedly in discussion for the late night slot of 10 pm for the show, the channel, over the weekend, decided to pull it off air to avoid further controversies. The channel confirmed the news in a statement, saying, “Effective August 28, we are pulling our programme, Pehredaar Piya Ki, off TV. 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.”

Meanwhile, Sumeet Mittal told Mirror that he has already moved on to a new show. “The idea now is to create a story that is pure entertainment and doesn’t touch on controversies. We’d rather focus on entertaining the audience rather than handle internet-based issues,” he said, adding that people only watched the promos and misunderstood the concept. “I would have loved it if the social media audience had watched the show before reacting to it because that would’ve been a fair opinion. It is okay to judge if the content is good or bad.

The base of this controversy was rumours and that’s not a healthy sign.” What happened to the interim plan to shift the show from primetime to a late-night slot? “The online petition had gone to Broadcasting Content Complaints Council, the body that looks after content-related complaints. The jury decided that even though the show is not promoting anything wrong, it would be prudent to shift it to a 10 pm slot in light of the petition and also since the show involves a child actor. However, we knew that the slot wouldn’t do justice to the show’s plot so we decided to end it and work on a new one,” Mittal explains. Incidentally, the channel had received flak two weeks ago for pulling the daily soap Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi off air with just a fourday notice to the team.

Producer Siddharth P Malhotra
I’m not in favour of abrupt endings. A producer’s contract mentions a notice period to facilitate the story’s smooth end. Any show with a good story should be aired but only till you’re honest to it. Pehredaar is not my kind of a show but the fact that it ran for a while means there was an audience for it.

TV producer Ravindra Gautam
It is unfortunate that the show was shut without notice to its team. But I don’t think the broadcaster or the producer needs to be blamed in this case. It is unfair on the part of the viewers to criticise a show so much as to file a petition against it. This is lynching of freedom of expression.

Badho Bahu producer Dipti Kalwani
I don’t think most of the people who objected to the show even bothered to watch it. They thought they were being righteous. If the show had a 10-year-old girl falling in love with an older man, no one would have objected. People think they are being fair but I think they are being sexist.

Pehredaar... actor Suyyash Rai
I was about to return in the story so it’s a shocker to me. It’s sad but I’m sure that it was a well thought out decision. I remember something similar happening a few years ago, when a channel was shut overnight. More than us, it is sad for the spot dada, light men. Their homes run because of daily soaps.
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Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 30, 2017)

It was announced yesterday that Pehredaar Piya Ki, one of the most controversial shows on Indian television in recent times, will go off air. This decision comes days after Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) decided to change the show’s slot from prime time to late night. The drama that revolved around an 18-year-old woman getting married to a nine- year- old boy received flak for its objectionable content.

Speaking to mid-day, producer Shashi Sumeet Mittal said that the decision to pull the plug on the show wasn’t taken abruptly. “It was a mutual decision between the channel and us,” she said.

Earlier this month, I&B Minister Smriti Irani had written to the BCCC, asking them to review the content of the show. Mittal, however, denies that the I&B Ministry had any role to play in the show being taken off air. “We didn’t have any pressure from anyone. In fact, after watching the show, the Ministry had allowed us to continue with it as they didn’t find anything objectionable.” She added, “We had written the show keeping the prime time audience in mind. After the show was pushed to the 10.30 pm slot, we realised it wasn’t garnering the response we wanted. So we decided to pull it off air.”

Mittal said that they will return with a new show. “We are in the process of writing the show. We want a prime time slot and don’t want to get into another controversy this time.”

Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; August 15, 2017)