Do you remember the old Doordarshan characters whom you watched leaving all other important things, years or may be decades ago? Those days, Television was not available 24/7. We used to wait whole day to watch our favorite TV serials. As Doordarshan was the only channel, remote controls were not the part of the living room. However, its shows and characters always fascinated and mesmerized the people from my generation and that is still nostalgic about it.
Those days, there was no choice, only one television channel – Doordarshan and a standard set of programs but the quality of programs was more superior to what we have today, hundreds of channels where either you have third grade reality shows, Saas bahu drama or news shows where everything is breaking news. Today, I am going to have a recap of some of the most popular Doordarshan characters who still have some space in our memories.
Ram :: Ramayana :: Played by Arun Govil
Close your eyes and try to imagine Ram, you will definitely visualize Arun Govil as Ram. This is the level of popularity of Arun Govil who played these charactes.
Krishna :: Mahabharat :: Played by Nitish Bhardwaj
It was due his popularity that after the serial, Nitish Bhardwaj was elected from Dhanbad in 1991 on a BJP ticket.
Basesar Ram :: Hum Log :: Played by Vinod Nagpal
Vinod Nagpal played this role in Hum Log. He was alcoholic father with a dark, sarcastic sense of humour. He was the live face of middle class appointment viewing in contemporary India.
Veerawali :: Buniyaad :: Played by Kiran Joneja
Kiran Joneja shot into the limelight with her role as Veerwali in Buniyaad. She also acted in popular Doordarshan serials like Mahabharat, Yug and Swabhimaan.
Rajani :: Rajani :: Played by Priya Tendulkar
Priya Tendulkar rose to national fame with her TV series Rajani (1985) where she played a housewife who can’t stand any injustice and solves public social issues. Her portrayal of Rajani made her a household name all over India.
Karamchand :: Karamchand :: Played by Pankaj Kapur
Karamchand was India’s first detective TV serial. Pankaj Kapur played the role of Jasoos Karamchand. This serials became a big hit and he became a household name.
Shaktimaan :: Shaktimaan :: Played by Mukesh Khanna
Mukesh Khanna played the role of Shaktimaan and his alter-ego Pandit Gangadhar Vidyadhar Mayadhar Omkarnath Shastri, a photographer for the newspaper Aaj Ki Aawaz. It was one of the most popular and longest-running television series for Indian children on the Doordarshan channel.
Abhimanyu Rai :: Fauji :: Played by Shah Rukh Khan.
Fauji starring Shahrukh Khan went on to become a mega success. The magic of Fauji transformed him into an overnight celebrity. The character played by Khan (Abhimanyu Rai) gained instant popularity due to the brilliant writing, shooting and editing of the team of creators who were all young and deeply committed.The character of Abhimanyu Rai was based on the exploits of Lt Col Sanjoy Bannerji of the Bombay Sappers, Indian Army.
Byomkesh Bakshi :: Byomkesh Bakshi :: Played by Rajit Kapur
Byomkesh Bakshi (1993) directed by Basu Chatterjee was the critically acclaimed television adaptation of the series. Actor Rajit Kapur played the role of Byomkesh Bakshi, for which he was highly praised. Ajit was played by K.K. Raina and Satyaboti was played by Sukanya Kulkarni who was the first actress to play the character. The series lasted for 33 episodes.
Budhai Ram :: Neem ka Ped :: Played by Pankaj Kapur
Pankaj Kapur played bonded labourer "Budhai Ram" who lives in a village with a Muslim Zamindar (landlord).
Shanti :: Shanti :: Played by Mandira Bedi
Shanti was first ever daily soap on Indian television. Mandira Bedi played the lead role in the serial.
Kalyani :: Udaan :: Played by Kavita Choudhary
Udaan was based on the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. It was probably the first Indian television show on women empowerment. The serial is inspired by true story of Kavita Choudhary’s elder sister Kanchan Choudhary who after several hardships went to become the first female Director General of Police. The direction and performance of Kavita Choudhary were applauded and loved by the media and the public.
Mr Yogi :: Mr. Yogi :: Played by Mohan Gokhale
Mohan Gokhale played the role of a NRI who comes to India to get married. The story revolves around his search for a perfect bride.
Samir Diwan :: Dekh Bhai Dekh :: Played by Shekhar Suman
People still remember this comedy serial for the fantastic performance of Shekhar Suman.
Mungerilal :: Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne :: Played by Raghubir Yadav
Mungerilal is a small time clerk who gets bossed around by his wife at home and by his boss at office. To top that, his father in law rubs salt on his wounds by exaggerating his own achievements as a Police Inspector. He overcomes all this by day dreaming, where he takes revenge on his boss, his father-in-law. He also dates his beautiful colleague. As he basks in the glory of his accomplishments, his wife wakes him up to ruin dream.
Raja :: Yeh jo hai Zindagi :: Played by Rakesh Bedi
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was the first sitcom and one of the biggest hit shows on Doordarshan. The serials revolved around funny happenings in the lives of Ranjit Verma (played by actor Shafi Inamdar) and Renu Verma (played by actress Swaroop Sampat, a former Miss India 1979), who play a married couple along with Renu’s unmarried and unemployed younger brother Raja (Rakesh Bedi).
Guru :: Nukkad :: Played by Dilip Dhawan
The serial and the character played by Dilip Dhawan received tremendous response from the viewers
Srinivas Wagle :: Wagle Ki Duniya :: Played by Anjjan Srivastava
Wagle Ki Duniya starred Anjan Srivastav as a bumbling sales clerk in a multinational and Bharati Achrekar as his wife. The series was hit and made Anjan Srivastav a household name.
Jaspal Bhatti :: Flop Show :: Played by Jaspal Bhatti
Flop Show was an Indian television sitcom that first aired on Doordarshan in 1989. The show was written and directed by satirical humorist Jaspal Bhatti, who also played himself as the main character. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and also acted in all the episodes as his wife. The sitcom was a satire on the socio-cultural problems faced by the common man in India at the time. Although only 10 episodes of the show were ever produced, the show has had a long and powerful legacy.
Kroor Singh :: Chandrakanta :: Played by Akhilendra Mishra
Chandrakanta, based on the novel of Devaki Nandan Khatri, first appeared on Doordarshan in 1994. It ran for two years and the characters of Chandrakanta, Virendra Singh, Kroor Singh aka Yakoo, Badrinath became popular names.
Thanks for comprehending all this information. I just wanted to point out your attention to a small mistake in your blog. The picture you show for “Guru :: Nukkad :: Played by Dilip Dhawan” is not of Dilip Dhawan.
Dilip Dhawan was last seen in the movie “Hum Saath saath hain” as Neelam’s husband’s elder brother.
That was nostalgic.
I remember “The World this week” anchored by Prannoy Roy.
I also liked the serial Surabhi anchored by Sidharth Kak and Renuka Shahane.
I remember the great news readers of those times.
TV was watchable those days, in Black and White without a remote.
Just one channel and that was enough for us. The whole country was united those days by Doordarshan between 8pm and 11 pm. Local channels were aired between 5 pm and 8 pm in the regional languages.
Cable TV was non existent.
I don’t watch TV these days.
The internet has completely replaced TV for me, unless there is a T20 match going on with India as one of the teams.
Regards
GV
It was a nostalgic journey for me it remindsme of my childhood days those was the golden days of television. I have tears in my eys
Old golden days and those best serials has wet my eyes and soul.
Purane serial dekh kar purani yaadein taaza ho jati hain.
Hi you forgot RISHABH MALHOTRA from SWABHIMAAN. I think he was as famous sa RAM from RAMAYAN n KRISHAN from MAHABHARAT. At that time afternoon shows were not so famous but it was only SWABHIMAAN jiske liye mere jaise teenagers books se bhara bag peeth pr laade school se chhutti hote Hi bhaagte hue ghar aate the n Ghar pahunch kr hi sans lete the ki swabhimaan ka koi scene na chhut jaye. Rishabh ka koi scene na chhut jaaye. N uske baad confirm karne k liye raat ko parents se chhup kr slow aawaz me tv chalate the. N dekha hua episode fir se dekhte the…. So how can u forget such a character that was super famous those days….
N Sir g agar aap bata sake to bataye ki m swabhimaan videos kaha se download ya purchase kr sakti hu……
Dear Abhi,
80’and 90′ was the time when the present generation of high energy / professional breed was at its most adorable time of life, full of joy / carefree, now in middle of their life, and stuck in today’s advanced and digitally woven web, they can only cherish these memories and savor it with this golden contents, available on this site,
Would wait to see more such nostalgic things on this site
The picture given in Nukkad serial is not of Guru. The character of Guru was played by Dilip Dhawan.
The picture here presented is of “Khopri” – ??????, which was plaayed by Samir Khakkar.
Sameer Khakkar is an Indian actor remembered for his infamous role as Khopdi, the drunk, in popular serial Nukkad. Another important role that he is remembered for is that of the rich man in the globally acclaimed silent movie Pushpak. He has appeared in one episode of the TV show Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, movies Raja Babu, Parinda Jai Ho and Hasee Toh Phasee.
I once again want to go back to 1975 – 1980’s Zamana, where everything today what I think was a sweet dream which I saw along with all the DD T.V serials. Neither all the TV serials wil be shown again nor the golden days will come back
Thanks DD
I want to point out about the picture posted with ‘Nukkad’.
Actually, The actor in the picture is not Dilip Dhawan. He is Sameer Kakkad, who played the role of sharabi ‘Khopdi’ in same serial.
hey, where’s Guniram? played by Rakesh Bedi ….& …ta…na…na..na..na…na…Malgudi Days?
Old is gold …guys do you remember serial Sigma ( stars wars type ) DD channel and stoneboy 1983 . feeling happiness and remembering golden days because it relates with your childhood days….biggggggggggg Thanks to abhisays.com
Thanks for the list however You missed very important characters. Keku ( Keshav Kulkarni ) and Dilruba from Shriman Srimati. Chandrakanta was stupid serial and no one wants to remember it.
This is such a wonderful article…brought back childhood memories …certainly these DD shows have a life lasting quality which we miss in today…I would like to add one more chapter to the heart touching list above…this is a little funny…vikram vetaal was one super serial alongside all of the above…loved all these – hakke bakke, guniram, flop show, ulta pulta, sigma, UFO, Intezar, star trek, deviji, rajani and many many more…but with vikram vetal I have a very silly (kiddish) chapter to share…I used to follow this serial…Reason? Vikram has to take Vetal somewhere…so used to wait to see where he has to take him finally…of course, the stories used to be engrossing and as a kid even i enjoyed it – the makers meeting their target 🙂 – but my stress would start once the story ended…because then vetal will ask vikram a question and vikram will answer and vetal will fly off…every time, after finishing his story, when vetal asked vikarm a question there would be a storm of anxiety within me ‘don’t speak vikram don’t speak just keep quiet he is deceiving u he will fly off don’t speak…’ I would be screaming from within at vikram to not speak..but every time he spoke and vetal flew away..i would be so disappointed with vikarm..I would talk to myself ‘I have understood here that vetal will fly off if he speaks but vikram, himself, has not realized it yet, sh*t’…and with this disappointment I would wait for next sunday and with a hope that at least next sunday vikram will not speak and take vetal to the final place…
This is how simple our childhood was …
Thanks DD for being a part of such sweet, simple and beautiful days… hats off!
plzzzzzzzzzzzzz upload old keo karpin hair oil advertisement that used to telecasted in dd1 during 1990-2000s, plzzzz upload d video
Chandrakanta was heart of Sunday’s not stupid
Word by word same story as mine.
OMG,Wat a journey it was,DD 1 was only channel and used to watch that single channel with sheer enthusiasm,golden days dose we,neither dose serials nor that tym wil come again,hey tehqiqat was also Gud starring Vijay anand,used to wake up early morning for ranting,jai shree Krishna,captain vyom milind soman ,shaky I’m a and,vyomkesh bakshi,one aankhein serial,and how cn v forget ajnabee dany denzogpa, bol mitti deya baweya song,shanti,swabhiman and,yug badla badla Hindustan,jhansi ki Rani varsha usgaonkar,Chandrakanta,surbhi,chitrahaar,bioscope movie,movies night on Saturday Friday and two movies on Sunday,my god nostalgic days,sumwere heart is aching remembering it all,can’t dose days come back
The actor shown in Nukkad is not Dilip Dhavan.
Add to this,
1) Shahbaaz Khan – Mahadji Scindia – The Great Maratha.
2) Rohit Roy – Rishabh Malhotra – Swabhimaan.
3) Renuka Shahane/Siddharth Kak – Surabhi.
4) Danny – Ajnabee
5) Kiran Kumar – Saahil
Oh.. I just want to go back in time…
I am a kid of 80s. Please upload all the old doordarshan serials.
Thanks to You Tube, we can now watch and get back in time!! Absolutely gem of storytelling, concept, acting, values. Simple yet powerful. One of my favorite ways to spend my free time is to sit with my 5 year old daughter and watch them esp Junglebook, Ducktales, Tales spin….
I want to download ‘o ganga bahete ho que ‘ of bhupen hazarika which was sung by various artist in doordarshan. Please……..
I want to see Target serial and Comedy serial LUCY
1 NAME ADD. KESHAV KULKARNI — (SHRIMAN SHRIMATI)
You missed very important character Swami(Malgudi Day’s)
You forgot to mention “Vikram aur Betaal”, “Dada Dadi ki Kahaniyan”, “Malgudi Days”, “Bharat Ek khoj”, “Aisa Bhi Hota Hai” etc. 🙂
Glorious, precious days………..bilkol alag dunia thi wo……
Stone boy, hum panchchi ek dal k, Sigma, indradhanush, 1234, malgudi days………………….. kya life thi……no words…..
That’s not Dilip Dhawan photo
where is Keshav Kulkarni & Dilruba (Shriman Shrimati) outstanding serial.Also Add 1 more name swami (Malgudi Days).
Plz upload trishna serial old telecos on doordarshan . why it is not on you tube .
One more programme was there like aisa BHI hota hai….like Indian great stories…..if possible pls upload
How one can forget Rin 123..Kahani mein twist…A spoof on bollywood hits!!
Picture of Guru in Nikkad played by Dilip Dhawan is wrong.
Character Name of shown picture is KHOPDI
Who play the role of STONE BOY?
Who play the role of STONE BOY? Can any body tell
Kiran Joheja played Ganga in Mahabharat not veeravali