Premiere of Star Plus’ ‘Anupamaa’ Pushed As TV Shoots Shut Down

The show was supposed to go on air on 16 March.

Cast of the show Anupamaa.

(Photo: Instagram)

The premiere of Star Plus’ new show, Anupamaa, starring Rupali Ganguly and Sudhanshu Pandey in the lead, which was supposed to air today at 9 pm, has been pushed indefinitely for now. Instead, an extended new one-hour episode of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai, which generally airs at 9.30 pm, will be aired from 9 pm to 10 pm.

Anupamaa and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai are both produced by Rajan Shahi.

“This would be the line-up for the whole of this week,” a source from the channel said.

The source also said that “the premiere has been pushed as the bank of episodes is not enough and the shutdown of television shoots from 19 March would have interrupted the airing of the show.”

Confirming the same to The Quint, producer Rajan Shahi, said that the show will be relaunched once the shoots resume.

“Star plus and I have mutually decided that we should not launch Anupamaa today because anyway there is going to be a shutdown of shoots in two days time. So no point launching the show right now. But we will definitely be relaunching it. The date would be considered once the shooting resumes.”

Producer Rajan Shahi

As of now, no new date for the premiere has been finalised, as it would depend on when the shoots resume.

On 15 March, producer bodies came together to decide that shooting of all films, serials and web shows would be shut down from 19 March to 31 March to combat the spread of coronavirus and maintain the safety of the cast and crew. The situation will be reassessed on 31 March. 

In the coming days, the shutdown is likely to affect the airing of several shows (across TV channels) that do not have a big bank of episodes. Most shows, on an average do have a bank of one-and-a-half to two weeks of episodes.

The source told us that “the channel is currently taking a stock of the whole situation”.

Anupamaa was to replace Dipika Kakar and Karan V Grover-starrer Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum, which aired its last episode on 14 March in the 9 pm slot.

‘Anupamaa’ is the Hindi version of Bengali series ‘Sreemoyee’ and Marathi series ‘Aai Kithe Kai Karte’. The show revolves around a homemaker who goes to great lengths for her family, but doesn’t get valued for it by her her husband and kids. 

“Star plus and I have mutually decided that we should not launch Anupamaa today because anyway there is going to be a shutdown of shoots in two days time. So no point launching the show right now. But we will definitely be relaunching it. The date would be considered once the shooting resumes,” said producer Rajan.