[1]Remember the time when you sat with your entire family and watched Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, the satire Flop Show or even the bubbling detective Didi in the Didi’s Comedy Show? The 80s set the tone of simple, sometimes black comedy with superbly written dialogues and flawless repartee.
Characters like Ranjit, Renu and Raja from Yeh Jo Hai… played by Shafi Inaamdar, Swaroop Sampat and Rakesh Bedi became household names, while Satish Shah who played different roles in each episode became a name to reckon with in the world of Hindi comedy.
The 90s took forward the legacy and gave the recently-awed-by-cable-TV audience gems like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Zabaan Sambhalke. The desi Mind Your Language led by Pankaj Kapoor was one of the classiest renditions of stereotypes, sadly something that hasn’t been replicated so well ever since. These shows set the templates for good-natured, clean comedy without over-the-top performances. Over the years, with the advent of slapstick and raunchy stand-up humour, one has forgotten what it was like to have a comedy show that was intelligent as well as one which can be watched with the family.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/10zabaan0jpg-742