THE GOLDEN ERA of Television
iView Author: dilnawaz (patna/new delhi, India)
Email: syed.tauheed(@)gmail(dot)com
THE GOLDEN ERA of Television
The era of TV serial making in country began with Harish khanna.the head of doordarshan(dd) khanna,categorically was in favour of entertainment, educational and patriotic content.doordarshan ably carried ahead the responsibility of infotainment media. patriotic tv serials consistently were shown .dd achieved phenomenol success I towards meaning ful and popular broadcasting.the overwhelming response it received motivated the launch of private tv chanhnels.however they failed to make popular TV serials as compared to dd.initially satellite channels didn’t focused on the subject at all. with passage of time dd’s effort also lagged behind. today it is no where near what it was as its time of inception.
Patriotic TV serials on dd post the “golden era” is behind their predecessors.
The 1985 tv series kahan gaye wo log can be looked upon as beginning of golden era of patriotic tv broadcasting. The first episode was being telecast on on 29 dec 1985.
Azadi ki kahani follwed the suit, but couldn’t left the lasting impression .khan Gaye. since its inception won overwhelming response. then vice president mr Shankar dayal sharma presented the foundation(aadharshila) award best patriotic serial to kahan gaye.
Recollecting the TV serial is itself a worth experience. produced and directed by film actor Dhiraj kumar kahan gaye had big names such as Manoj kumar.the iconic actor who immotrtalized BHARAT with fils such as purab paschim and upkar.the veteran played akey role in broad casting of kahan gaye ..the serial with its immortal patriotic stories won wide recognition.the success ofd serial paved way for production of other tv series .patriotism freedom struggle educational and cultural unity was being promoted .the era proved “golden” with almost all sewrials registering popularity.
Well known film maker hrishikesh mukherjee took to small screen and made hum Hindustani.it was all about a hospital,four women each different in their religion.the 1987 sserial showed how religios distinctions are no above human relations.another 1987 seriesbahdur shah jafar folled the suit.dd on 1st sept took tjr initiative to dedicte aseries to the last mughal emperor.well known actorAshok kumar played the character .thanks to B.R.chopra the dpoyen film industry emperor found his due recognition for the services .highly encouraged with success of serial B.Rchopra further produce two more serials for dd.bollywood old doyen maintained his cause for india’s cultural unity and integrity.
Buniyaad written by manohar shyam joshi successfully depicted the pains and atrocities of people of the country postpartition.buniyaad showed that however the cause of a separate nation was solved, partition for nmany on this side of nation proved ablessing in disguise.famous film maker ramesh sippy took the cause with buniyaad and rest is history.buniyaad is amilestone .
The famous tamas written by bhism sahni was adopted successfully into acinem,atic version by Govind nihlani.nihlani shot in limelight with this serial.TAMASis still looked upon as one his finest work.tamas a film actually was aired in dd as tv series.
The golden era also saw the lights of Shyam benegal conceptualizing a tv series on jawaharlal Nehru’s popular book- a discovery of India.benegal the father of new wave cinema did his job right rigorous research and study..it was benegal dedication only that made bharat ek khoj a milestone.acinematic reference point never achieved later. the cinematic of the discovery of India is great experience.the tv series is still looked upon as great source of information on India.
Rs 8 lakhs per episode paid by dd for one hor of duration.many well known actors acted.nasseruddin shah om puri shban aazmi sre to name few,most of them the doyens of new wave cinema.Roshan seth who anchored the serial playe the character of stradhaar –jawaharlal Nehru.n near look alike of Nehru seth very soon became ahouse hold name.
The phenomenol bharat ek khoj motivated others such as Manju singh. Manjusingh’ made swaraaj.an epic tv series highlighting the concept of swaraaj.the story was abit freedom fighters and their struggle for freedom.the serial in its first attempt of its kind recreated the high points freedom movement.
Balwant gargi’s saanjha chulha and r;k kapoor’s fauzi is also worth mentioning.lieutenant colonel R.k kappor’s fauzi in the first attempt of its kind focussedon the lives of army men.fauzi ’s great success empowered the nations sensibilities in a waty what it was meant for.shahrukh khan one of the lead in serial shot into fame with fauzi. he became a popular name.the cast and crew of fauzi won revies.shahrukh khan switched to bollywood big screen and rest is what everyone knows.
The golden journey of patriotic tv serials however continued with jahnsio ki raani,the sword of tipu sultan,the great maratha and yug.The sword of tipu sultan amagnum popus by sanjay khan aesthetically depicted the life and stuggle of brave tipu.sanjay kahn’s great effort diidnot went in vein.tje hugely successful tv series can be looked upon as cinematic reference point as far as taipu sultan is concerned.sanhjay khan himself enacted the character of tipu well supported by Shahbaz khan annant mahadevan,prod moutho.
Jhansi ki rani with its storyline content and cast crew proved significant.the serial recreated the the bravery and valour of lakshmibai..sanjay khan banking on successof the sword of tipu sultan made the great maratha.a storyline abot maratha warriors.atopic not touched earlier.sanjay khn’s inititive took the shape of the great matataha
Sunil agni hotri’s yug an also be mentioned here..an explosion of revolutionary sentiments yug ran for more than three hundred episodes.
The golden run of patriotic tv serials on dd continued with A.s bedi’s ye gulistaan humara raaj babbar’s mai9n delhi hoon, gufi pentals maharana pratap.
Impressed abd guoided by dd’s success satellite tv channels started taking the cause. At present two serials are airing .Ramannd saagrs saagar art has taken up the initiative. serials such as prithiviraaj chauhan and vijay are running. star plus is credited with airing saara aakash.star one’s chuna hai aasman.sony’s aisa desh hai mera color’S mohe rang decan be seen as good initiative for national integrity patriotism however dd’s contribution ,the initiative it took ,the concepts it brought, will remain victorious. And golden
Long live our patriotism.
Tags: Bharat Ek Khoj, Buniyaad, Dhiraj Kumar, doordarshan, Harish Khanna, Indian Television, Kahan Gaye Woh log, Manohar Shyam Joshi, Tamas, Television
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“star plus is credited with airing saara aakash.star one’s chuna hai aasman.sony’s aisa desh hai mera color’S mohe rang decan be seen as good initiative for national integrity…”
I dont’ know about the other serials but mohe rang de on colours is one crappy serial out there. Started with a background of freedom movement it has now become as same as any serial based on house hold mahabharats.. nothing related to freedom movement. And the so called punjabi background they hae shown is full of non-sense and shows the incompetence of the people involved. They should watch Buniyad and learn somethings..
It is the worst phase of television in India these days.. nothing is there which is genuine and can be appreciated.
Last heard that SRK-Aziz Mirza r bak on small skreen. The name of serial is Ghar ki Baat. Duniya gol hai.
Expecting such serials to me made today is kinda stupid, coz the audiences have changed (or have been forced to), the markets have changed, the economics, more than anything else have changed. Don’t know why the don’t consider reruns of some of the popular serials you’ve mentioned up there – I think there is a HUGE audience who keeps hearing about the DD gems, but never got a chance to relish them as they would’ve liked to – I personally would recommend – Ye Jo Hai Zindagi, Saanjha Chula, Bharat Ek Khoj (most relevant for todays generation), Chanakya (how can you miss this one!), Tamas, Buniyaad, Mirza Ghalib (oh man!), Ji Mantriji (tho this wasn’t on DD, per se :D) – if old movies can be digitally re-mastered and re-released, why not old TV serials??
What has golden era of television or for that manner anything else, got to do with patriotism?
Anyway, Malgudi Days was the best thing that ever happened to Indian Television.
Basu Chatterji’s ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’
Jaspal Bhatti’s ‘Flop Show’
A serial by Sai Paranjpye-don’t know the name
Kakkaji Kahen-I think by Ketan Mehta starring Om Puri
Of course Bharat Ek Khoj
But at that time used to make fun of DD because of goof ups during news broadcasts.But really miss DD now because of trash dished out by likes of Ekta Kapoor
@Dilnawaz –
Some of the golden miss here:-
Surabhi.
Malgudi Days
Dekh Bhai Dekh
Ramayan (Arun govil & deepika Chikhliya)
And there were some animation serials – Alif Laila, He-Man (And the masters of the universe), Jungle Book, Potli Baba ki (Aaya aaya chenu wale chunu ka baba – I love this song…can somebody mail it to me), Alice in the wonderland, Gayab Aaya etc etc.
Sony’s Three Stooges, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeanie, Denice the menace (Hey Mr. Wilson) etc etc.
IF we talk about DD, how can we forget Doordarshan Logo, Rukawat ke liye khed hai, DD News reader Salma sultana & Ved Prakash…and Main Samay hoon (Harish Bhimani)
Some legendry ads like Vicco Turmuric…nahin cosmetic..vicco turmuric ayurvedic cream. Twaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiinggggggg
Washin powder Nirma, Washing powder Nirma
Doodh si safedi, Nirma se aayi
Rangeen kapde bhi khil khil jaaye.
And I am a complan Boy (Shahid Kapur) and I am a complan girl (Aayesha Takia). Ad of Dhara oil (Maa ne ghar pe jalebi banayee hai)….Hajmola (Bus bus Maa ne pet ke liye diya hai – Hajmola Sir)..and Jab me chota bachha tha (Jab roshan hota Bajaj)…
Dude you reminded me of the old golden school days…
Aaya aaya chenu wale chunu ka baba
@sharath
if i’m not mistaken the serial by Sai Paranjpye was “hum panchi ek daal ke”
Dude, run a spell check ….
it is about patriotic tv broadcasting