Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 22, 2018)

Popular TV comedy, Khichdi, is set for a comeback after over a decade with several new faces. Mirror has learnt that Renuka Shahane is scheduled for a guest turn in some of its episodes in the role of a don, while OMG! Oh My God director Umesh Shukla (right) will play another cameo on the show. The primary cast members of the Parekh family — Anang Desai, Rajeev Mehta, Supriya Pathak, Vandana Pathak and Jamnadas Majethia — have been retained in their original roles from the previous seasons.

Speaking about Renuka’s role, writer-director and co-producer Aatish Kapadia reveals, “She plays a lady don with a speech impediment but refuses to acknowledge it. Much to everyone else’s annoyance, she tries to say difficult words and is incomprehensible in the process. Umesh plays an abstract painter.”

Meanwhile, Umesh has loved the gags featuring him so much, he has made it known that he’s willing to do more episodes. “The idea was to put the Parekh family in different situations and how they make people around them go mad. Jayshree (Vandana Pathak) mistakes Umesh’s painting of his grandfather for that of a horse and the family drives his character crazy with their comments,” Aatish reveals, adding that producer Ramesh Taurani was also approached for a cameo but he passed it saying he cannot act.

The new season goes on air over the weekend with one-hour episodes. “It comes around the same time as the IPL and we are taking the challenge head-on,” informs co-producer and cast member J D Majethia. Besides Renuka and Umesh, the new Khichdi will also have Debina Bonnerjee, Sarita Joshi and Deepshikha Nagpal, among others, in cameos.