August 30, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): It was a shocker for the whole unit of 'Bairi Piya' (Colors) when the report of the show going off air was actually confirmed. The cast and crew, all of whom had gotten so emotionally attached to the show, started counting the remaining days in descending order with heavy hearts. Even the fans reacted strongly to the news and started appealing and petitioning to any and everyone they could, including the production house, Balaji Telefims, all the actors, and Colors Channel. Each and every actor has moved with the news and thus many of them have started counting their days in descending manner. Even TellyCafe.com has been bombarded with requests and letters and messages asking the decision makers to change the time slot if they want but not to axe the show. And with the last date of shoot looming closer (probably sometime in the first week of September), the people seem to be getting even more antsy.
Our man Sharad Kelkar, who essays the character of Thakur Digvijay Singh in the show, has the same low feeling about the show going off air as do the fans. "It came like a total shock to us when we heard that we were being pulled off air. It couldn't be because of the TRPs because at the 8:30 PM slot we were getting good ratings. But after all, it's the channel's decision; we really have nothing in our hands. I feel so bad when fans message me asking why 'Bairi Piya' is going off air. And I really don't have any answers to give them."
"For that reason I had even kept myself offline from all the social networking sites as I was really feeling very bad seeing all the messages and petitions everywhere and still nothing is happening. Hopefully the channel will realize how popular the show is and how much it has impacted people. I guess only a miracle can save the show now," adds Sharad with low voice.
We also contacted the female lead of the show, Supriya Kumar aka Amoli, and she says, "I have no words to say because only I can understand what I am feeling right now. I feel like weeping everytime I realize that after a few days we won't be coming to these sets anymore and won't be talking about the next track in the show. It's like our whole family is parting ways. I know the show had a large fan following as people from Canada and Africa have sent us mails about the show. Even I think that 'Bairi Piya' should be given a different time slot."
We shared some of the messages we received from the fans of the show and we would like to share one particular Letter From A Fan (next page) we received with our readers as well. After reading them, Sharad was too moved for words but he did say this. "I would like to say sorry to all the fans of Bairi Piya that we can't keep entertaining for more time. We all wish that the show would get a second chance... But, in any case, all these wishes and letters mean a lot to all of us as it shows that our work did touch people. So thank you."
As for himself, Sharad says that he has maintained a record of shooting for more than 800 episodes of a single show (read: Saat Phere), and feels sad that this show had only around 250 episodes. However, he is confident that he will be back with some new show, some new character, and keep entertaining his audiences as always.
As they say, perhaps something even bigger and better is just around the corner!
-- Tejashree Bhopatkar / Sampurn Wire