NGO demands ban on Pati Patni Aur Woh

Just as the show launched amidst much publicity yesterday there has also been a lot of protest against the content of the show. Everyone from concerned individuals to NGOs have voiced their concerns as the show deals with infants who are just six months young. A Delhi-based NGO Uday Foundation filed a complaint to Minister of State for Women and Child Development (WCD) Krishna Tirath against NDTV Imagine's Pati Patni Aur Woh. Rahul Verma, co-founder and managing trustee of the Uday foundation has cited health hazards to newborns and toddlers who feature in it as reasons in his complaint. Pati Patni Aur Woh is a reality show that deals with the various issues on parenting. The five celeb couples who are participants on the show are Rakhi Sawant-Elesh Parujanwala, Shilpa Saklani-Apurva Agnihotri, Juhi Parmar-Sachin Shroff, Mouni Roy-Gaurav Chopra and Gurmeet Chaudhary-Debina Bonnerjee. Verma has also sent a copy of his complaint to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and Ministry of Labour. Rahul has mentioned in his complaint that, “We hope you will agree that this is completely unethical to exploit very young children (new borns and toddlers) in the pursuit of entertainment.” “Separating babies and toddlers from their parents for extended periods of time can lead children to feel distress and anxiety. After prolonged separation, a child can feel distrust for his/her primary caregiver and also separation can damage a healthy attachment and a child's sense of safety.” Verma has demanded that the show should be banned till the time the ministry of Ministry of Women and Child Development is completely satisfied with the format of the show. He has also demanded unedited recording tapes of the show from the producers to have correct information of handling of the children during the shoot. Pati Patni aur Woh is an adaptation of the international format Baby Borrowers. Incidentally even the international version had faced stiff opposition as child advocacy groups had demanded that the plug be pulled on the show. Saul Nasse of BBC Worldwide content and productions India GM and Creative Head (the show’s producer) did not revert with his comments on the issue.