During a global pandemic, when everyone is home-quarantining and finding ways to entertain themselves, watching the classic late 80s and 90s shows on Doordarshan channel is a good dose of nostalgia, bringing back childhood memories.
During the nationwide lockdown which was announced on 24 March by the Prime Minister, two late 80s shows, Ramayan and Mahabharat, were allowed to re-telecast on Doordarshan and DD Bharti channel. Not only this, but many other shows got lined up for re-telecast due to high public demand, like Shah Rukh Khan's Circus, Rajit Kapur's Byomkesh Bakshi, Mukesh Khanna's Shaktimaan, etc.
Now looking back to all the classic shows of Doordarshan, we have curated a list which will take you back to the old times and will help in avoiding the mental stress going around due to the coronavirus pandemic.
List of Classic 80s and 90s Doordarshan Shows
1) ‘Hum Log’
Starting off with the first-ever TV serial in India, Hum Log. This serial was aired on DD National in the year 1984. This 156-episode long sequel represented the daily struggle in a life of a middle man's family. The characters of this show became more popular than the film stars of that era.
2) ‘Ramayan’
Ramayan was a story depicting the life of Lord Ram. This show was not only seen for entertainment but parents used to educate their children about Lord Ram by watching this show. Ramanand Sagar directed this 78-part series and portrayed the whole story through television. This series was aired between 1987-1988.
3) ‘Mahabharat’
After Ramayan, another ancient Hindu epic, Mahabharat, was aired on Doordarshan in the year 1998. This 94-episodes long series was about the war between Pandavas and Kauravas. This show was the most popular among the children, adults and old age people.
4) ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’
Byomkesh Bakshi was a Bengali detective series which was directed by Basu Chatterjee and starred Rajit Kapur and KK Raina. This show was also very popular in the 80s and 90s.
This generation might be familiar with the movie 'Detective Byomkesh Bakshi'.directed by Dibakar Banerjee which starred Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
5) ‘Shaktimaan’
Shaktimaan which was played by Mukesh Khanna became the most popular show among children in the 90s. This show was based on a superhero, Shaktimaan, and his alter ego Pandit Gangadhar Vidhyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, who was a photographer for a newspaper. This show was aired on Doordarshan in the year 1997.
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6) ‘Buniyaad’
Buniyaad serial was aired on Doordarshan in the year 1986. The story of the show was based on the partition of India and Pakistan. During that time, the pain of the people was well presented by the director in the show. As India and Pakistan were partitioned shortly before the show's broadcast, it became quite popular.
7) ‘Malgudi Days’
Malgudi Days, based on the work of RK Narayan, was popular among children and elders at that time. A total of 39 episodes of the show aired on Doordarshan channel in the 80s.
8) ‘Nukkad’
A total of 40 episodes of the Nukkad show were aired on Doordarshan channel. The story of the show was based on the difficulties faced by the people with low income. Due to its tremendous popularity, the show was re-launched in the year 1993 after seven years with the new name - Naya Nukkad.
9) ‘Fauji’
Fauji show starred the king of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan and was based on the life of an army man. Shah Rukh Khan played the role of Abhimanyu Rai and this show was aired on Dorrdarshan in the year 1989.
10) ‘Flop Show’
Flop Show was a comedy serial and was purely entertainment. This show was directed by a popular comedian Jaspal Bhatti, who played the lead role with his wife Savita Bhatti.
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