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It will be curtains for the popular Hindi TV serial 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kahi Bahu Thi' this Thursday after the Bombay High Court on Monday declined to stay the termination notice served by Star TV to the producers of one of India's longest running soaps on the small screen.
The court order was given after the serial's producer Balaji Telefilms -- headed by Ekta Kapoor -- moved the vacation bench of the Bombay High Court last week seeking stay of the termination notice.
"Such relief is not possible", Justice J H Bhatia said.
Star has decided to scrap the serial following a drop in its Television Rating Points between July and September this year.
The serial is slated to end on November 6 when the last episode will be telecast.The programme has outlived its life. We had no motive to hurt Balaji," Star's counsel Ravi Kadam Kadam told the court. The serial has to be taken off the air because the channel was losing viewers of prime time slot to other channels, he said. But Balaji's counsel Ram Jethmalani argued that the agreement between the two parties provided that the show will run at least upto March 2009.
The iconic family saga spread over three generations ruled the small screen for several years since it was launched in 2000 and struck a chord with Indian viewers worldwide. The serial gained popularity as an early Hindi soap and was centred on daughter-in-law Tulsi played by actor-politician Smriti Irani. Over 1,500 episodes spanning eight years have been telecast making Tulsi and Mihir Virani household names.