Daridra Lakshmiyaru

Daridra Lakshmiyaru was a Kannada teleserial that aired on Udaya TV. It was produced by Phani Ramachandra. The title name of the serial was changed to Sahasa Lakshmiyaru (The Valiant Women) after drawing a flak from the public^[3] as well as the title song was changed from Daridra Lakshmiyaru Ivaru to Poojipene Ninna Jaaji Pushpagalinda on 20 January 2003.^[4]

Plot[]

The serial is about the story of five ill-fated young women who suffer for no fault of them. One has a black complexion, another is born under the influence of a bad star, the third one is blamed for bringing bad luck to her in-law`s house and the other two are twins who with their mother need to experience mortification on the grounds that their mother has failed to produce a male child. The serial title song proclaims its sympathies towards these women for getting hitched from their family. They start performing poojas, keeping vrats and taking the help of black magic for their marriage as they feel it is the only way to escape from such humiliations.^[3]

Controversy[]

The serial faced a huge criticism for its former serial title Daridra Lakshmiyaru because of referring to women as Daridra which was considered an insult to women in general. Many viewers, non-viewers protested it and a women`s organisation even filed a petition in the High Court. Also, the late Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan (actor) joined the fray and called upon all the women to beat Phani Ramachandra with broomsticks. In Kannada, the word Daridra has two meanings; it means poor as well as ignoble or the lowly.^[3]

References[]