Pehredaar Piya Ki: Sony reportedly pulls plug on controversial show with no sign of latest episode

Sony Entertainment Television has reportedly pulled the plug on small screen’s most controversial show Pehredaar Piya Ki.  [caption id=“attachment_3837345” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A still from Pehredaar Piya Ki. YouTube screengrab.[/caption] The latest episode of the show (28 August) was not telecast during its recently changed 10pm time slot, suggesting that the show has gone off air. Actor Jatin Lalwani said that if the show was not aired at its given time slot, then we know that the news of the channel pulling the plug on Pehredaar Piya Ki must be true. “If this is happening, then I am shocked. I was waiting to re-enter the show after the leap. Tejaswi is a close friend so I wanted to be a support to her and work with her. I wanted the show to do well as a lot of hard work goes into a show when it is launched. So many people including technicians will lose their jobs when the show shuts,” said Suyyash Rai, another actor that is a part of the show. After the show changed its prime time slot from 8:30pm to 10pm after a directive from the Broadcasting Content Complains Council (BCCC), the makers of Pehredaar Piya Ki were planning a time leap for the show as well, along with having added a disclaimer that their show does not promote child marriage (according to the same BCCC directive). This entire cycle of events was pushed into place after a viewer started an online petition that garnered over 1 lakh signatures and was forwarded to Smriti Irani — India’s Information and Broadcast minister — who in turn forwarded the petition to the BCCC on a priority basis. _Pehredaar Piya Ki_  is a show that follows the story of a 10-year-old prince, Ratan (Affan Khan), an 18-year-old girl Diya (Tejaswi Prakash) and the marriage that takes place between the two of them in order for Diya to be Ratan’s protector — pehredaar — against an evil family who is hell bent on taking over the king’s lavish property. She takes on this role (sacrificing her own engagement to a guy who she loves and is actually her age) after Ratan’s father (Diya’s dad’s BFF) asks his friend for a favour and Diya obliges out of a misplaced sense of responsibility.