Should Surrogacy Be Legal? Tujhse Hai Raabta And Badnaam Gali Can Help You Decide

When a woman agrees to carry a baby in a womb for another person or couple who will become the parents after birth, it is defined as surrogacy. India has the unofficial status of being the ‘rent-a-womb’ capital of the world. Surrogacy is becoming a subject of debate from parliaments to households which places India at the center of this debate. Two shows on ZEE5 are taking this conversation forward by portraying both sides of the surrogacy debate through the ZEE5 Original Movie, Badnaam Gali, and Zee TV show Tujhse Hai Raabta.

Watch the clip where Kalyani agrees to become a surrogate mother here.

Recently on Tujhse Hai Raabta, Kalyani decided to become the surrogate mother to her husband Malhar’s child. Kalyani and Malhar need a new baby to cure their child Moksh’s bone marrow disease. Sampada tries to convince them that she is the right person to become the surrogate mother since she is his ex-wife. Malhar doesn’t want Kalyani to have the child because she is too young in his opinion.

However, Kalyani finds out that Sampada is unable to bear children anymore. She is paying a poor and ill woman to carry Malhar’s child. This highlights one of the realities of surrogacy in India where the rich people exploit the poor by making them their baby factories without caring about the effects on their bodies.

This is one of the reasons why commercial surrogacy is about to be banned in India. Soon the only women who will be able to carry a baby for another person or couple will have to be a close relative who does it selfless favour without any pay. This move came under a lot of criticism because it doesn’t define ‘close relative’ and it excludes homosexual couples and single parents.

One of the biggest arguments against this bill is that it takes away a woman’s independence and opportunity to earn a guaranteed income responsibly. This aspect is well-explored in the ZEE5 Original movie Badnaam Gali, where Patralekha plays the role of a surrogate mother. This movie shows how commercial surrogacy helps her remain financially independent while trying to show how society refuses to accept her way of life.

Watch the trailer for Badnaam Gali here.

Watch the entire movie ‘Badnaam Gali with Divyenndu and Patralekha streaming only on ZEE5.