Pehredaar Piya Ki, Sony Entertainment Television’s upcoming royal drama, is raising quite the storm in the world of general entertainment. The show’s promo, which reveals an unusual marriage between an 18-year-old girl and a 9-year-old prince, is making a section of viewers rather uncomfortable. Theories doing the rounds range from paedophilia to child marriage. While the frowns might be justified given Indian television’s recent track record, Pehredaar Piya Ki might be a case of judging the book by its cover.
The show is set to air on July 17 and despite the flak its promos are getting on social media, it might not hurt to give its makers the chance to put the story forward, before we trash it as a regressive idea like trigger happy Twitter vigilantes.
The comment section of the show’s promo on YouTube is brimming with concern and a sense of doom.
Industry reports also suggest that Pehredaar Piya Ki happens to be inspired by Lamhe, the Yash Chopra classic starring Sridevi and Anil Kapoor, a film that was considered to be way ahead of its time in 1991.
Set against a royal Rajasthani background, Pehredaar Piya Ki features Tejaswi Prakash as Diya and Afaan Khan as Ratan Harshvardhan Singh, in the lead roles. Shot in Jaipur’s Madawa Palace, the plot of the much-awaited TV show seems to be shrouded in mystery, with much to speculate about.
While some reports suggest that the 9-year-old prince falls in love with his beautiful protector/guardian, others hint at a love triangle involving Suyyash Rai’s character, as the show progresses. It doesn’t end there. Apparently, Diya marries the young prince under a royal obligation, since her father works in his palace and is forced to give up her dreams and aspirations. Throw in a little bit of tradition and a lot more of prime time masala, and you have theories of a time leap to add to the confusion.
But the tricky part, that we’re all biting our fingernails about, is the portrayal of the romance between a grown woman and a child. But could Pehredaar Piya Ki not be the story of a unique friendship too? One of mutual love and respect, without any romance whatsoever? The promo doesn’t answer any of these questions, hopefully the show will.
While Tejaswi reportedly thinks of the show as a bold experiment, it’s hard to say just yet whether Pehredaar Piya Ki is only a dramatised slice of history or an offensive and desperate attempt to get eyeballs.
Here’s hoping that Indian television will surprise us with a sensitive and progressive story, even if it is from our regressive past.
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