Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 10, 2020)

Doordarshan re-running classics from the ’80s and the ’90s has started a new trend. The latest to join the bandwagon are Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Khichdi, CID, Aahat and Yeh Un Dinon Ki Baat Hai.

Ratna Pathak Shah who played the lead in the popular comedy series Sarabhai vs Sarabhai believes that at a time when melodrama and supernaturalism are ruling the roost, it will be a major respite. “Sarabhai is intelligent and witty, which I’m afraid can’t be said about a lot of our comedy programming. Many of us have moved to other formats to consume something other than mythological stories and saas-bahu jhagda. As far as I’m concerned, that’s rock bottom. We can only go up! Sarabhai can lead the way,” she says.

Actor Sumeet Raghavan believes that the audience who couldn’t shift to OTT to revisit these shows will be struck by nostalgia. “The fans for these shows have kept on increasing. For those who’re still not averse with the online world, will find it easier to catch these shows again,” he elaborates.

CID that ran from 1998 to 2018 became a game-changing series in the crime genre. Dayanand Shetty who played Daya in it believes that it’s a show that can bring a family together. He says, “The reality shows that are being aired have content which is slightly below the belt. I wouldn’t want young minds watching them. As for crime shows, they’re so bad that you can’t watch them with your family. The content is brutal and upsetting.”

Writer-director Aatish Kapadia who’ve been part of some popular series says, “Indian families generally tend to be together during any crisis situation. If these shows can make them forget their worries for two hours in the morning, I believe they can get through the day.”

With episode banks running dry due to the lockdown, TV channels decide to revive yesteryear hits
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 6, 2020)

On March 27, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that in light of the 21-day lockdown, enforced to flatten the Coronavirus spread curve, Ramanand Sagar’s magnum opus Ramayan would be brought back on DD National. Soon after, it emerged that the channel would be rereleasing other yesteryear hits from its oeuvre, including Mahabharat, Shrimaan Shrimati, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Chanakya, Circus, Byomkesh Bakshi and Shaktimaan.

On Thursday, Shashi Shekhar, CEO, Prasar Bharati—India’s public service broadcaster which runs Doordarshan and All India Radio—tweeted, “Thrilled to share that the re-telecast of Ramayan on @ddnational has garnered the highest ever rating for a Hindi GEC show since 2015.” Now, Mahabharat is poised to follow suit.

Meanwhile, with the lockdown having considerably depleted their episode banks, private channels, too, are forced to revisit their older shows. Colors has already brought back the recently-concluded season 13 of Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss, along with popular daily soaps like Dil Se Dil Tak and Belan Wali Bahu. Manisha Sharma, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, Viacom18, calls the channel’s old titles “seasoned shows”, adding, “We are facing an unprecedented situation. But we want to make sure that we keep providing wholesome entertainment to our audience, even in the time of social distancing.”

Kapil Sharma’s maiden solo stint on TV, Comedy Nights With Kapil, is also poised for a return with weekend special episodes on Colors. Interestingly, competitor Sony will be airing re-runs of the on-going season of The Kapil Sharma Show. CID, India’s longest-running TV show that went off air in October 2018 after 21 years, is back on Sony. Best of Crime Patrol and Superstar Singer are also returning to primetime. Horror fans will be particularly pleased to learn that the channel has reserved its cult show, Aahat, for midnight viewing. Sab TV, on the other-hand has placed its safe bet on Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

Mythology seems to be the flavour of the season. After Doordarshan, Star Plus is sprucing up with three of its own past mythologicals— Mahabharat, Siya Ke Ram and RadhaKrishn. Daily staples from the same channel—Saathiya, Diya Aur Baati Hum and Pratigya—are back as well, and sources confirm, are registering considerably higher ratings than during their original run. Star Bharat has decided to get back the two comic classics, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Instant Khichdi.

Meanwhile, Zee TV has come up with a unique strategy of bringing their web-shows to the small screen, which includes Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor’s Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Baarish featuring Sharman Joshi and the Ronit Roy-led Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain to combat vacant slots in the 9 pm-11 pm duration. “The cessation of shoots across daily primetime soaps lead us to evaluate alternatives in the absence of the core staple,” says Aparna Bhosle, Business Head, Zee TV, adding, “Given that we have access to a vast repository of content across multiple platforms, we decided to look within the network to arrive at this decision.” For the afternoon slots, the channel has revived Brahmarakshas, Pavitra Rishta, Choti Bahu, Kasamh Se, Jamai Raja, Jodha Akbar and Zindagi Ki Mehek.

Ayushmann Khurrana is also returning to the telly, through his 2008 show Ek Thi Rajkumari, which will soon start airing on &TV. The National Award-winning actor played the antagonist Prem in this love triangle. Incidentally, the channel is also bringing back the 56-episode, 2012 version of Ramayan, which had Gagan Malik as Ram, Neha Sargam as Sita and Sachin Tyagi as Ravan. “As the entire country fights the (Coronavirus) threat, there’s nothing better to bring families together than this fight between good and evil,” says Vishnu Shankar, Business Head, &TV.

Mukesh Khanna, who played Bhishma Pitamah in Mahabharat and India’s first superhero in Shaktimaan, says, “I’d never imagined that Ramayan and Mahabharat would air on the same day. It’s surreal. Back in the day, the government asked us not to air two epics in one day, as they were considered heavy shows for viewers. So, the premiere of Mahabharat was pushed by a year-and-a-half,” the veteran actor recounts.

He believes that the two mythological shows, along with his superhero outing, have given people a chance to revisit Indian culture. “After I heard about Ramayan and Mahabharat being brought back on TV, I spoke to the CEO of Prasar Bharati to air Shaktimaan, too. All it took was an e-mail,” he informs.

When asked if there are plans to take Shaktimaan’s story forward, the actor reveals that plans are afoot for season 2. “Shaktimaan was India’s first superhero, not RA.One or Krrish. I wanted to bring the character to the 70 MM format but couldn’t due to monetary issues. I have been working on Shaktimaan’s return for three years now, and there’s a concrete plan in place now,” he signs off enigmatically.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 8, 2015)

After hosting a contemporary reality TV show, Savdhaan India, for one season in 2012, National Award winning actor Om Puri is gearing up for a small screen comeback.

The 64 year old will be seen as the narrator of BP Singh's hit horror series, Aahat. The daily TV show, which is presently in its sixth season, has undergone major changes and switched to a bi-weekly format.

Om told Mirror, "I met Pradeep Uppoor (one of Aahat's producers) on Monday evening at his home. I have worked with him in Ardh Satya and Aghaat. We have a long-term relationship. I absolutely love the show and I couldn't say 'no' to him."

The actor had appeared on the show 10 years ago.