NGO complains against reality show 'Pati Patni Aur Woh'

The written complaint was made by the Uday Foundation for Congenital Defects & Rare Blood Groups (Trust) against the show that is set to premiere on the channel Sep 28.

"We have also sent a copy of our complaint to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and  Ministry of Labour," Rahul Varma, co-founder and managing trustee of the Uday Foundation said.

"Pati Patni Aur Woh" is about parenting. Right from living the life of an eight-month pregnant woman to taking care of an infant, a toddler, and a teenager - the show will see five couples doing it all.

Rakhi Sawant-Elesh Parujanwala, Shilpa Saklani-Apurva Agnihotri, Juhi Parmar-Sachin Shroff, Mouni Roy-Gaurav Chopra and onscreen couple Gurmeet Chaudhary-Debina Bonnerjee  are participating in the show. The format is inspired by international reality show "Baby Borrowers" and is being produced by BBC Worldwide Productions India.

"We hope you will agree that it is completely unethical to exploit young children (new born & toddler) in the pursuit of entertainment. Moreover as mentioned in NDTV's press release, even though the parents of these young children are watching via closed-circuit television, the babies are not aware of that and have no way of knowing how long the parents will be gone," said the letter.

"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. "We fear that this programme would lead babies to feel acute distress, ignored or manhandled," it further said.