Woh Bhuli Dastaan - 2

The Second part in the series of bhule bisare serials. These serials belong to an era gone by. Again no ratings. I am writing about them the way and the sequence I remember them

Karamchand
Yes the classic. No other detective serial came as close as best to this one. Pankaj parasher directs this one. Pankaj Parasher (Thanks Oz) showed promise when he directed that one. He made Jalwa after that. He also made Chaalbaaz. But then it was down and down. But the main hero and of course heroine were Pankaj Kapoor as detective karamchand and Sushmita Mukerjee (I think) as Kitty, his secretary. The show was classic. I somehow was very afraid while watching the show. It used to come late night and the different camera angles would make it even scarier. Most of the dialogues became quite famous. “Shaque karna mera pesha hai.” “Kitty” “Yes Sir” “Shut Up” “Yes Sir” Funny, intelligent and well made.

Chappte Chappte
Another detective serial but this one based on Journalist. Kanwaaljeet Singh and Kitu Gidwaani. The treatment was different and the theme was investigative journalist. It didn’t last beyond the usual 13 episodes.

Fauji
The Serial was the most popular serial on Doordarshan. The main reason was Shahrukh Khan. He was the most loved character on the serial. The serial showed Shahrukh as Abhimanyu Rai, an irresponsible youngster who trains to become a commando and finally matures up. He train under his own brother who is shown to be a strict disciplinarian. This show used to come at 9:00 PM on Wednesday. My tuition used to end at that time. But on this day it always use to stretch some time and we use to run to watch the serial on the first floor of some neighbor. I use to hate my Tuition teacher for this. Most of the characters were adorable and the serial was very patriotic and fun to watch. Remember Shahrukh friend who always says, “I say chap”. The line was so cool and within weeks was on everybody’s lips in my school and building.

Rajni
“Ladki hai who naam rajni hai”. Priya tendulkar as the angry young woman, who took social causes in each episode. Karan Razdan plays her husband. I think, it was directed by Basu Chatterjee. Came on Sunday morning. Rajni and Priya Tendulkar were always looked as one and the same. She couldn’t shake the image of Rajni till her death.

Qile Ka Rahasya
A Scary serial with a stupid end. It was frightening and the haunting music was too good. Whenever we use to watch the serial (again I think it was late Friday night), we use to cling to our mother while sleeping. My brother who was very small then used to be so afraid that he would sit under this big stool we had and peep through it. I guess the stool gave him a sense of security. We use to sleep after the serial and would cling to my mother so much that she would get angry with us and warned us if we watched the serial again. But the next week it was back in front of the TV. The scariest part is when a girl goes into the fort (Qila) and comes back after some time she has the stamp of blood hand on the back of her shirt. The woman in white used a number of times was scarier more here.

Choti Badi baatein
A serial on superstitions. It had Sulabha Deshpande, Arvind Deshpande, Babloo Mukerjee and Ashok Saraf. Sulabha Deshpande is shown as superstitious and the whole family tries to prove her wrong. The way they try to prove it was hilarious. The last episode I remember had all the character playing themselves and Ashok saraf is shown as the superstitious person.

Circus
Shahrukh Khan again. Son of a circus owner who comes back from USA and is forced to take control of a failing circus. It had Renuka Sahane playing Shahrukh’s love interest. She was very young then. Her smile was beautiful then too.

Nukkad
The best and most loved serial of all times. A set of characters on a Nukkad (street) and their everyday life and experiences provided laughs and sometimes even made us cry. I think the stories were directed by Aziz Mirza and Kundan Shah. Character includes Guru, Kader Bhai, Tambi, Ganpat Hawaldar, Ghanshu Bhikari, Hari, Teacherji, and many more. The attempt to use the same character again in Naya Nukkad did not have the old magic again. The characters were lovable. The story was about ordinary people and everybody could identify with it. The problems they faced was of every day that you and me could face and the humor was the best part. The theme song was great too “Bade Sehar ke ek gali mein basa hua hai Nukkad”

Charitraheen
A serial based on a bengali novel. A story about a college student who is of high class and a widow, also of high class working in the hostel. A kind of Devdas theme.