If you are kid from the 80’s and 90’s, you will definitely recollect the time when there was no cable, DTH, set-top boxes with over 200 channels and multiplexes. It was the golden era of our beloved Doordarshan (DD). Just the name of the channel still gets us excited and kicking.
DD first started it’s experimental telecasting on 15 September 1975. This means DD turns 57 today. Doesn’t it make you feel old? It feels like yesterday when we waited an entire week for Chitrahaar to watch movie songs, or watch Krishi Darshan even though you did not understand one bit of the show.
To take you back in time and make you feel nostalgic, The Quint brings to you snippets (in no particular order) of some of the good old shows aired on DD.
1. Mahabharat
India’s most popular mythological TV show was aired from 1988 to1990. Produced by BR Chopra, Mahabharat was a show with powerful dialogues and real-life-extravagant sets.
2. Vikram Aur Betaal
This was a show which parents made sure their kids watch, as the stories narrated by Betaal to Vikram incorporated lessons for life.
3. Buniyaad
A show that blurred the line between reality and fiction, dealt with India’s partition in 1947 and its aftermath.
4. Byomkesh Bakshi
A thriller series, that feels fresh even after decades, was directed by Basu Chaterjee and starred Rajit Kapur and KK Raina as Byomkesh Bakshi and Ajit Bandyopadhyay, who solved spine-chilling cases.
5. Malgudi Days
The show was based on the works of popular author RK Narayan. The story revolved around Swami and his friends, who despised school and roamed around the streets of Malgudi.
6. Fauji
How can we forget the show that introduced King Khan to Bollywood? This was the story of a young man training for Indian Army commando regiment starred by Shah Rukh Khan and went on to become a mega success.
7. The Jungle Book
I bet you still can’t stop humming the song, ‘Jungle Jungle Baat Chali Hai’. This show brings back myriad of memories. Every kid shared adventures with Mowgli and his friends in the forest on a Sunday morning.
8. Shaktimaan
This show was undoubtedly the first and one of the most popular super heroes in India starring Mukesh Khanna. The super hero in red and gold fought the bad men to save humanity with his super powers.
Happy b’day Doordarshan!
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