Well, someday the world had to get over the forever-wailing Tulsi and the emotionally over-worked Parvati. Soemday, the world was going to pave way for shows that were fresh, intelligent and well-done. India, albeit, is known for not producing great sitcoms. However, by luck, chance or whatever, we did have show that were a dream mix of great script-writing, acting & timing hit Indian Televsion. Also, Indians did accept the wildly hilarious American shows with open arms. But like all good things come to an end, these too did. Nevertheless, we can always hope for them making a comeback.
Bindiya Chotrani talks to a few self-professed critics and lists down 5 Indian TV shows that we definitely need to see more of.
Sarabhai vs Sarabhai
In the clutter of saas-bahu sagas, if there ever was a breath of fresh air, we can only credit it to Deven Bhojani’s Sarabhai vs Sarabhai that ran 70 episodes between 2004 and 2006. The sitcom showcased the hysterically hostile relationship shared between a very aristrocatic and elite M-I-L, her unforgivably middle-class D-I-L, the antiques of Indravadan Sarabhai and Rosesh Sarabhai’s insanely humorous kavitas. Crisp dialogues, stellar performances, serious comedy, offbeat characters and a bagful of insights into human idiosyncrasies – the show was all of these. While there were rumours of the show making a comeback – Deven Bhojani denied that happening.
Friends
An American Sitcom, this show was about 6 friends that stayed across the hall and spent most of their time at a coffee shop named Central Perks. The show had Jennifer Aniston play Rachel, David Schwimmer play Ross, Lisa Kudrow play Phoebe, Matt Le Blanc play Joey, Courteney Cox play Monica and Mathew Perry play Chandler in its main cast. The show had 10 seasons to it and aired its last episode in 2004. However, there have been reruns of the episode ever since. So loved was this sitcom, that people have been demanding a comeback of the show. There were also rumours of the same happening and a movie based on the show being released soon. Albeit all rumours were rubbished and put to rest when the main characters denied all of it.
CloseUp Antakshari
It is hard to recall Antakshari as anything other than close-up Antakshari, although Sansui and Titan were its subsequent sponsors. And if there’s one thing that the show is incomplete without, it’s the impeccable show-host Annu Kapoor. This show bought deep-rooted Indian concepts to Television. While there have been several versions of Antakshari like the sa re ga ma pa and more. However, nothing can compare to the cut-throat competition between Deewane, Parvaane and Mastane.
Hum Paanch
Much before Ekta Kapoor became synonymous with saas-bahu sitcoms, she produced Hum Paanch, a cult comedy about a mad family and their escapades. While the talented Ashok Saraf lead the ensemble cast as the head of the family, he had a dead wife who spoke to him through the portrait, and 5 daughters, each one with different exploits. And for all of those who didn’t know, the show also had a very comical looking Vidya Balan as Radhika, adept with oversized spectacles and ear machines that enabled her hear better.
Khichdi
One sitcom that did inspire a movie was Khichdi. Aired in 2002 , this one made for one of the most memorable one-liners. Praful’s hilarious interpretation of terms and Hansa’s slapstick ‘Hello, How are, Khana khake jaana’ were what remined with people long after the show ended. Still much a part of pop culture through Facebook memes, all 98 episodes of this sitcom have been rerun on a number of channels. One of the first Indian shows to adopt the Western model of annual seasons, Khichdi the Movie released in 2010 to a very lukewarm response. Luckily for the fams of the show, there was a sequel to khicdi – called Instant Khichdi. The sequel humorously depicted a bourgeois family trying to settle itself into higher society with their new-found wealth and about how they tried acing the lives of the super-rich in their own eccentric way.
While a comeback of these may not be on the cards, you can always hope for them to do so. Believe our list is incomplete? Tell us about your pick in the comments section below.