Pehredaar Piya Ki To Take A 12-Year-Leap; Viewers Feel It's A Disaster Management Step!

The buzz around controversial fiction show Pehredaar Piya Ki took a new turn after Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) asked Sony, the channel airing it, to shift the time slot of the show from 8.30 pm to 10 pm. They have also asked the makers to run a disclaimer that the show doesn’t promote child marriage. Interestingly, the show will also witness a 12-year time leap and many are of the opinion that this is a disaster management step on part of the makers to put an end to the criticism of the show. However, sources close to the channel share that the leap was always supposed to happen.

“The leap will happen at the scheduled time. It’s not that this leap is happening because of all the controversy or the petition that has been filed. The leap was always supposed to take place in October, three months from the day —July 17 — the show went on air,” says the source. Also, as per the source, there might be a change in the 10 pm time slot too. As per the latest report, the show, in the new time slot [10 pm] will be aired August 22 onwards. “Talks are still on. Once the final decision is taken, the channel will issue a statement,” adds the source.

For those who are not in the know, there have been several complaints from viewers against the content of the show that highlights how a 9-year-old prince (Afaan Khan) gets married to a 18-year-old (Tejaswi Prakash) woman, who is supposed to be his bodyguard. A petition was recently filed on Change.org, following which I&B minister Smriti Irani asked Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) to take immediate action.

Regarding the leap and new time slot, petitioner Mansi Jain wrote on Change.org, “…to get Smriti Iranis attention and to get their timings changed from prime time to 10 pm and now the leap is a big thing. It shows that when we will come together, some good will happen. We should be atleast happy that our voices are heard and taken account for. Will be closing the petition once the leap happens. Thank you everyone again for supporting.”

Meanwhile, Tejaswi is happy that the show now has a new time slot and is not being banned as was demanded by those who found the content regressive. According to her, this is proof that unlike what many thought, the show doesn’t highlight anything unethical. “Truth will always prevail. I am happy with the new time slot as 10 pm is also prime time. Had our show been moved from 8.30 pm to 6.30 pm, I would have felt bad,” she says.

Ask her about the leap and she says, “How does it make any difference? I think people are just obsessed with talking about the show, be it about the leap or the time slot. I have been part of other shows where the time has changed or the leap has happened, but there has never such buzz the way it is right now. The buzz is going to be even more if the leap happens. We had a bank of 15 episodes and we are already shooting ahead of that, so I can only tell you about my character right now.”

Tejaswi’s co-star from the show, Suyyash Ranjana Rai is also equally content with the recent development and hopes that this would end the misunderstanding around the show. “Most of the people who complained against the show have not watched it. And I can bet on that. In India, people just want entertainment and they would do anything to get that. I remember when the controversy started for the first time, Teju (Tajaswi), who is a dear friend, called me and said how worried she was. That time also I told her not to worry.”