Violent Protests over the news of Kyun Ki Closing Down

Cities in India saw scenes of protests by women of all hues, often turning violent, after the news of a possible close down of the TV serial “Kyun Ki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” (better known as Kyun Ki) hit the media. The Star Group recently announced that they’re going to terminate sourcing and telecasting the popular television series from November 10.

In Mumbai, women took to the streets, and there were some incidents of belan throwing at various Star TV offices. Some Tata Sky and DishTV offices were also attacked, when various rumors did the rounds pointing at one of the two popular DTH service providers being behind Star Group’s unprecedented move. Speaking to the Kanda Batata News, Tata Sky spokesman blamed Reliance, who’ve recently launched there DTH service, for the rumors.

Across India hundreds of women have reportedly tried to kill themselves, using sleeping pills. However, many of them needed sleep so badly, owing to the prolonged soap watching every night, that many just fell asleep. But when they got up the next day, they were again feeling depressed, empty, and wanted to kill themselves.

Anita Naik, a resident of Borivali, a suburb of Mumbai, had this to say: “I don’t know what I’m going to do for an hour every day now. I think I’ll just try and catch up on other soaps that I have been watching during the commercial breaks in Kyun Ki. But, this is like losing my family”.

In Delhi, the protests turned violent, as a group of women tried to break security cordon, as they waited for Chief Minister Sheila Dixit. Police tried to use tear gas to disperse the protesters, but it proved totally ineffective. The CM, who’s got herself into a big mess over her alleged anti-women statements lately, declined to comment. However, she added that it’s a matter that concerns the Center and not the State, as it is a National soap. The police had to resort to lathi charge, to disperse the protesters, who just refused to move – an art they had practiced on a daily basis.

Ekta Kapoor, the brain behind the serial, has expressed shock over Star Group’s decision. She claimed that it’s a patriarchal move by the male dominated Star Group, and that they’re doing it only because she’s the only successful women producer in India.

On the Indian blogosphere, Ekta’s sentiments have resonated with a lot of urban educated women bloggers. Lot of these bloggers, who vehemently hate Kyun Ki, have strongly criticized Star Group for their anti-women stance. A group of Dehli based bloggers, have even announced a “Best of Kyunki” showing, at their upcoming blogger meet.

Meanwhile, the Star spokesman was not available for comment. In a email comment, later, he said that he was busy talking with the producers of Balika Vadhu, to replace Kyun Ki, and dismissed the controversy as unfortunate.

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