Ekta Kapoor announced on Sunday to telecast an apology

Taking cognizance of the widespread protests in Saurashtra over alleged 'demeaning remarks' in Kyunki Saas ... serial on Thakorji, the deity of Vaishnav community, Ekta Kapoor announced on Sunday to telecast an apology.

In an SMS to TOI , she said, "We have sent our apologies. It's a very big mistake. Not at all intentional, but a mistake nevertheless. I plan to put the apology in the show too."

Apart from the protests that had begun from Friday, a notice, seeking a public apology or facing a criminal case for the alleged 'derogatory remark', had been slapped by a devotee on the TV serial producer.

A protest meeting was held in Dhoraji of Rajkot district on Sunday. Already, two huge rallies - one in Keshod and the other in Junagadh - had been taken out to highlight the resentment in the Vaishnav community.

The notice was slapped on Ekta by a devotee, Manish Khilosiya. In a rally on Saturday, members of Akhil Bharatiya Vaishnav Samaj and other such Vaishnav associations had threatened Kapoor with legal consequences if she did not issue an apology during the serial's telecast itself.

The notice was slapped on Ekta by a devotee, Manish Khilosiya. The notice sent by Khilosiya's lawyer has given the producer a fortnight to tender the apology. Other than Ekta, the notice holds the writer, director and an actor guilty under Section 298 of IPC.

Meanwhile, at Dhoraji, women devotees, who gathered at Moti Haveli for their daily prayers, said this was not merely an affront, but an insult to the Vaishnav community. They carried placards denouncing Kapoor and calling for a boycott of all her serials.



"Even in the episode that sparked the controversy, in the end it was shown that good always wins over evil. We have already apologised to the people as nothing was done intentionally and we do not mind doing it on screen too," she added.

However, Anil Nagpal, the writer of the show is not apologetic at all and instead said, "We didn't intend to hurt anyone's sensibilities. But one should realize that the epitome of evil in our serial, which has been inspired from mythology has voiced it in the serial to Baa's obsession with Thakorji, in the future episode the positive characters will put the fear of god in the negative character.

Kyunki is one serial that has adored Thakorji with characters. We have not renounced Thakorji or anything, our serial has been propagating Thakorji and that is why it is so popular in Gujarat."