Aanjan Srivastava: Wagle Ki Duniya is of great relevance today

A still from Wagle Ki Duniya

As part of its #StayHomeIndia campaign during the lockdown, Doordarshan is telecasting its popular shows of the 1980s, which include Ramayan, Mahabharat and Circus. Fans of shows of that era have been active on social media telling DD which other shows it needs to re-run. Among the suggestions is Kundan Shah's Wagle Ki Duniya, which was telecast from 1988 to 1990. Durga Khote's production was based on characters created by noted cartoonist RK Laxman about the issues of the common middle-class Indian man. It starred Aanjan Srivastava as a bumbling sales clerk and Bharati Achrekar played his wife.

Says Srivastava, "I hope DD telecasts it again. The show is of great relevance today as it deals with the trials and tribulations of a common man. It is about surviving despite the odds. This is what we are doing currently."

Srivastava, who is still remembered as Mr Wagle informs, "We used to shoot at Rajkamal Studios. V Shantaram had given the mahurat clap. We also shot a bit at Durga Khote's Madh Island bungalow. The series achieved a cult status and made me a household name."

Wagle Ki Duniya has Shah Rukh Khan make a guest appearance in one of the episodes, courtesy his association with the show's director, Kundan Shah, with whom he later collaborated in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994).

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