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The news is out! After a hiatus of nearly eleven years, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is all set to return as a web series with its original cast that includes Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Rajesh Kumar and Rupali Ganguly.

The shooting for the sitcom, which is all set to take a seven-year leap, will begin by the end of this month and will continue through April. The show makers, who’re targeting a May release, will also be introducing some new characters into the show that managed to attain cult status among viewers.  

For all those who’re unaware, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai was an iconic show for which thousands of memes have been generated over the years, click bait pieces surface every now and then, and this is the only Indian TV show people demand a second season of. For most television enthusiasts, it features on their all-time favourites list along with the F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Seinfelds of the world.

So on that note, here’s a look back at our story from 2015 about the reasons why Sarabhai vs Sarabhai was the best thing on TV, ever!  

 

• The writing, hands down. Quirky, witty and extremely intelligent, the show boasts of Indian TV’s best writing till date. The only show that probably beats it is Office Office. Dry, sarcastic humour and bitchy repartee was scarce (and still is) on Indian TV. Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai was that breath of fresh air.

 

 

• A wonderful take on socio-economic divide, the show was an intelligent commentary on the flakiness of the affluent without being preachy. It poked fun at the hypocrisy that exists in society and didn’t flinch to call people out on it – all in good humour, of course.

 

 

• The show’s leads delivered top-notch performances, making it very difficult to pick favourites. Ratna Pathak Shah owned Maya Sarabhai’s judgemental snarkiness while Mauli Ganguli became a household darling with her thrifty, irresponsible D-I-L act. The men – Satish Shah as the mischievous Indravadan, Sumeet Raghavan as the pacifier Subodh and Rajesh Kumar as the outrageous poet, Rosesh – were the perfect foil for this dysfunctional saans-bahu drama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• What also made the show a winner were the well-etched character graphs for both the leads and guest characters. Remember Deven “Let me explain” Bhojani as the incorrigibly stupid son-in-law? Or the very deaf and very funny Madhusudan Fufa? Not to forget Mallika Sherawat’s sexy bai act. Sarabhai had it all.

 

 

• The final credit definitely goes to the directors of the show for being able to draw out memorable performances and create believable situations that are both thought-provoking and funny on Indian TV. Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai broke through the clutter and we wish more shows made similar attempts at better writing and character formation.