While they made iconic TV shows like Friends in the West, India too had its own little revolution of comedy content on television. Dekh Bhai Dekh – one of the longest running shows of the 90s – needs no introduction. It was a pioneer of Indian comedy shows. Emotions, comedy, family, drama, a great script – DBD had it all. From the adorable little kids to the house servant Karima, all the characters were perfectly created for the Indian audience. The show was addictive and way ahead of its time.
Listing down all the reasons why I loved the show would be impossible, so I’ll cut it down to 10 points. Here they are:
1. It taught us to live together cordially.
2. The show was way ahead of its time.
Sanju was dating, and so was Kirti. At a time when our parents regarded the boyfriend-girlfriend concept as ‘western’, it was a relief to see our favourite characters breaking the stereotype. Not only was it a breath of fresh air from the conventional serials, DBD also helped change several pre-conceived notions.
3. The show had the coolest grandparents ever.
The show featured the coolest grandparents there have ever been. The dadi spoke English as fluently as she cooked ghar ka khaana, and the handsomely clad dada – with a moustache to die for – won many hearts.
4. Balraj’s forgetfulness and the adventures that followed always kept us hooked.
So many episodes were woven around Balraj’s bad memory and we totally loved them all.
5. “A ji, o ji, suniye ji!”
Remember Farida Jalal as Suhasini? She was too adorable for words.
6. The show taught us to treat everyone equally.
As a kid, I remember being impressed by the fact that the family’s servant, Karima, was treated as part of the family. Not only did the show entertain us, it also imbibed in us such values.
7. We loved the chaos in the house.
There is beauty in chaos and the show underlined that fact. We loved seeing Chachi, Suhasini, Kirti, Sanju, Balraj, Dada, Dadi, Karima , Sameer and the others run around the house in each episode.
8. Shekhar Suman.
If I had to watch the show just for him, I would. I still remember the shirtless Shekhar in the first episode wooing everybody with his charm.
9. It gave Indian television some great actors.
Whether it was Shekhar Suman, Bhavna Balsavar, Amar Upadhyay, Sunny Singh or Urvashi Dholakia, the show introduced us to some great actors who went on to do good shows thereafter.
10. “Kadam kadam par gaana hai, hasna hai aur rona hai…”
The very essence of the show was to keep the spirits high even in not-so-happy times. Life would be so much better if we made the song our mantra.
A couple of years ago, there were rumours that the show might make a return with a new season. Although nothing is confirmed yet, we hope that the rumours are true. For now, you can watch the show at the YouTube channel Dekh Bhai Dekh TV Comedy Show.
You can thank me later!