Dekh Bhai Dekh (Old Doordarshan TV serial)
Comedy is not really an easy task to create, especially if you are working for the Indian audiences, where subtle comedies do not work at all. And this is the reason, comedy movies or TV shows in India was not too much popular. Especially in the 1980s one would rarely see any producer investing a huge amount of money in a comedy genre TV show or serial. A true and successful comedy was judged by the number of times it was run in the TVs. And this is where Dekh Bhai Dekh made its mark. It was one of most popular comedy shows in the 90s. Have a look at the storyline, and get brief details about the cast. Here we are! Let’s have a walk down the memory lane folks!
| Cast | Character name |
| Navin Nischal | Balraj Dewan |
| Farida jalal | Suhasini Dewan |
| Sushma Seth | Sarla Dewan |
| Shekhar Suman | Sameer Deewan |
| Urvashi Dholakia | Shilpa |
| Bhavana Balasar | Sunita Deewan |
The story
The story revolves around three generation in this TV serial. In the Diwan family who live in as an extended family in an ancestral bungalow of the suburbs in Mumbai. The story of this serial cannot be said to be a really unique one from the daily life story of any family, but the best thing was the “Never say die” attitude. This attitude helped this family overcome the sibling rivalry, relationship, business problems, in-laws and even irksome parents. One of the most distinctive features of this show was the fast speaking characters.
One of the most re-run comedy TV serial
This was such a comedy show that you could watch with your whole family. There were a lot of actors who are really well established in Bollywood now, but undoubtedly they did their best performances even in TV shows back in the 90s. During that time, very few serials were able to make a mark apart from “Malgudi days”. But Dekh Bhai Dekh was one of the serials that were remembered for a really long time. Every character within the TV show was unique in its own way and made the audience laugh with their skills. A lot of people would say Shekhar Suman was the best of them all. “Old is Gold” is the perfect proverb that I would like to use for this TV serial.
There were runs and re-runs for this TV serial and still it did not fail to make people laugh. The characters were portrayed in the funnies ways possible. The dadaji in shorts and Tshirts, the dadima is a really charming personality, so much love and adoration, Balraj, the simple elder son, chachu, the person playing pranks at all times and making fun, Suhasini- the “pati vrata” nari, always obedient to her husband, and finally Sonu, the chichi, who is really innocent, childlike and a wannabe write. These people undoubtedly have excellent comedy timings that took this TV serial to a whole new level. This also sends a strong message for its future generations about how the family bond works and supports each other at times of necessity.
Relating to the real life
The family was completely a crazy one, which made it fun to watch, they are ALWAYS onto something hilarious. And even though they do the weirdest things in the world, yet their mistakes make them really special. And who can forget the character of karima? The servant with a super attitude, because without him, nothing ever gets done. This TV serial had more re-runs than any other comedy shows in India. The story portrayed a new and confident India. A simple everyday story that focused on the changes of the society. The jokes made in the TV serial was on the situations that can happen in everyday life and the reactions given by the members of the family was a totally laugh riot for the audiences.
A fresh approach
This portrayed a new age, a fresh approach towards something light, crisp and comedy, but with a fast pace, modern and relevant yet weirdest setting. The initial season of 52 episodes were just amazing that contained Shekhar Suman’s hypnosis learning and Chachi’s book writing. As it continued, the show comprised of relatively less characters but with some new faces and some guest appearances. But the original flavor, attraction remains always intact as it was. All we can finally say is, if you have not watched of real Indian comedy serials, then this one is a must watch for you.
| SL NO | Things to know | |
| 1. | Direction | Aanand Mahendroo |
| 2. | Language | Hindi |
| 3. | Telecast Season | 1 |
| 4. | Episodes | 66 |
| 5. | Production House | Saraswati Productions of Jaya Bachhan |
| 6. | Executive production | AB corp. |
| 7. | Camera Set up | Multicamera |
| 8. | Run time for each episode | 22 minutes |
| 9. | Original telecast | DD1 |
| 10. | Re-run by | DD2 and Sony |
| 11. | Release date | May 3 1993 |
| 12. | Final episode | 11 August 1994 |
| 13. | Screenplay | Rajeev Agarwal |
| 14. | Dialogue | Liliput |
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