Archive for the ‘Nostalgia’ Category
Doordarshan Nostalgia: Surabhi
On September 28, 2007 in Classic, Culture, Doordarshan, Hindi Serial, History, Nostalgia, Society, TV, Values
This is more like nostalgia for people of my generation, given that a number of today’s youngsters would not remember this excellent cultural program called Surabhi; but it was more than just a simple cultural program. The serial attempted to show us the diversity across the length and breadth of this country; it is almost a guarantee that in each episode we would discover something new.
The serial ran for a very long time and had a total of approx 415 episodes making this a very long-running serial indeed. Imagine learning about the martial art of Kerala called ‘KALARIPAYATTU’, or learning about the art and culture of a city in Tamil Nadu or Rajasthan. The serial was hosted by the popular duo of Siddharth Kak and Renuka Shahne. It was a popular combination, with the slightly more serious Kak and the ever-smiling Renuka. One of the hottest point about the serial was the involvement of the audience, with audiences being asked a question at the end of an episode, and the involvement grew and grew till they had to handle a huge number of postcards (I believe that they had a record of 10 lakh postcards for one episode).
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Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hain (1960)
On September 28, 2007 in Action, Bollywood, Classic, Crime, Melody, Movie, Music, Nostalgia, Patriotic, Police, Singing, Society, TV, Values
An almost magical movie from Raj Kapoor, it seems a very simplistic movie. In these cynical times, you would think that such a thing is impossible. However, the fact is that in reality, Acharya Vinoba Bhave did indeed cause dacoits to see the error of their ways and surrender. The movie portrays Raj Kapoor as a very simple man, not used to the complication of life, not very clever; but very honest, very much in love with the country and the fact that humans are not bad, and if they are acting wrongly, they can be shown the error of their ways and come to the right track.
The movie was released in 1960, and was a big hit. It was directed by Radhu Karmakar under the banner of R.K.Films and also starred Padmini, Pran, and Lalita Pawar. The music was by Shankar Jaikishan and the songs were a great hit. The movie won the Filmfare Award for Best Movie in 1961, and perpetuated Raj Kapoor’s image as the simple, uncomplicated, not calculating film persona that he had been carrying along since Awaara and Shree 420.
Shanti: The serial that launched Mandira Bedi
On September 15, 2007 in Character, Classic, Doordarshan, Drama, Family, Hindi Serial, Nostalgia, Popular, TV
Nowadays Mandira Bedi is on a roll, having made a mark in the area of television commentary on cricket, something that no other lady in cricket has managed to do. You can imagine the reaction of cricket purists when they first saw Mandira on ‘Extra Innings’ wearing her noodle straps. There was an lot of hue and cry about trying to sex up the world of cricket commentary, but she managed to overcome the controversy and made her name. And now she is very much in demand, having posed for a series of very sexy photographs in the men’s magazine ‘Maxim’ and also having acted in a Hindi movie called Shaadi Ka Laddoo (which was not so good though and sank without a trace).
What started her on this path to fame were 2 things – a supporting role in Shahrukh’s movie ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ and her role as the main heroine of the Hindi serial ‘Shanti’. Shanti was an incredible episode in Doordarshan’s history, a show set in the daytime to appeal to the stay-at-home women audience, and it was incredibly successful. Imagine a serial running every day on the weekdays, and managing to go for 804 episodes. I remember when Doordarshan started this show in the mid-nineties and I remember that the word was out that there was no limit on the number of episodes. The serial only finished when it seemed that the serial was dragging on and TRP’s had gone down a lot (in fact, it seemed that Doordarshan actually put a stop to the show because of its low ratings).
The serial was about a strong career oriented women, in the world of show-biz and powerful movie moguls, it was a strong role for Mandira Bedi with her playing the role of an inspirational character, head strong woman, and was essentially the story of an illegitimate child who came back to take revenge and fight for both her and her mother’s rights.
Doordarshan nostalgia: Dekh Bhai Dekh
On September 13, 2007 in Character, Classic, Comedy, Doordarshan, Family, Hindi Serial, Middle Class, Nostalgia, Popular, TV
Hindi comedy serials are a very rare set. If you neglect the current set of stand-up comedies such as Comedy Circus, Laughter Challenge, etc, then in the past, there have been very few, and specially ones that can make you laugh. There was for example, some serials such as Wagle Ki Duniya, Sarabhai vs. Saraibhai, Khichdi, Yeh Jo Hain Zindagi, etc. But excepting for some of these, in many cases the comedies have been flawed, and in most cases, the serial makers have not been able to find the exact combination that will have audiences in splits.
Currently, most of the serials are some sort of family dramas, with something or the other happening between relatives; and of course, many of them are very rich and not somebody we can connect with. It is then that I remember this serial called ‘Dekh Bhai Dekh’ that started appearing on DD Metro in 1993 (at that time, DD Metro had appeared as the alternative entertainment channel, as Doordarshan main used to be much more boring).
It had a set cast of characters, and was extremely entertaining, taking a joint family in their home, and their antics and activities. You watch their activities, and how their interactions generate comedy by itself, and how it all seems so natural. This was a production by Saraswati Production, a company owned by Jaya Bachchan.
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