Doordarshan turns 61: 18 shows from Television's golden era we wish we could rewatch!

Doordarshan turned 61 today, September 15, 2020, thus, bringing back memories of Television's golden era when entertainment in the country revolved around serials such as Mahabharata, Circus, Fauji, Ramayan and Malgudi Days. On the occasion, here's a list of 18 other classic TV shows we wish we could rewatch!

Updated On: 2018-04-08 06:15 PM IST

Doordarshan turns 61: 18 shows from Television's golden era we wish we could rewatch!

Circus: One of Shah Rukh Khan's most iconic roles was the one in the beloved TV show Circus. The show followed the lives of circus artists as they go about their daily routines surviving the twists and turns life throws at them.

Tehkikaat: Vijay Anand and Saurabh Shukla in Tehkikaat, one of the most underrated detective-thriller series on Indian television. In terms of content, Tehkikaat was next only to Byomkesh Bakshi.

Vikram Aur Betaal: Arun Govil and Sajjan Kumar as King Vikramaditya and Betaal respectively in Vikram Aur Betaal. The show taught kids valuable life lessons while entertaining them.

Shaktimaan: Who can ever forget Mukesh Khanna as Shaktimaan? India's very own superhero.

The Sword of Tipu Sultan:Actor,Sanjay Khan shone as Tipu Sultan in the unforgettable historical drama, The Sword of Tipu Sultan.

Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne: Raghubir Yadav in Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne. In the show, Mungerilal (Yadav) gets bossed around by everyone, but gets back at them in his dreams!

Buniyaad: Vijayendra Ghatge and Kiran Juneja in Buniyaad, the legendary drama series of the 1980s, which dealt with India's partition and its aftermath.

Flop Show: The late Jaspal Bhatti gave us reason to laugh out loud in spite of everyday troubles through Flop Show, an ever-relevant satire on socio-cultural problems faced by the common man.

Hum Log: Ashok Kumar discussing the story with the audience at the end of each episode of Hum Log, Indian television's first soap opera, will remain etched in memory forever.

Mirza Ghalib: Naseeruddin Shah was captivating as the lead character of Mirza Ghalib in the biographical television drama of the same name.

Neem Ka Ped: Pankaj Kapoor in Neem Ka Ped. The versatile actor played the character of Budhai Ram a suffering bonded labourer in a village with great conviction.

Tenali Rama: Vijay Kashyap in and as Tenali Rama the popular south Indian folk hero.

Ramayan: The iconic teleserial Ramayana from the late 1980s began its re-telecast on March 28 on DD national, amid a nationwide 21-day lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Doordarshan decided to re-telecast the mythological series on public demand. Ramayan was one reason why people of all ages woke up early even on a Sunday. Ramayan not only entertained but also enriched our lives. Arun Govil essayed Ram and Deepika Chikhalia was cast as Sita on the show. Both of them along with other cast members went on to become household names.

Mahabharat: After Ramayan, Doordarshan also surprised its audience with the re-telecast of another popular teleserial, Mahabharat. Like Ramayan, Mahabharat also brought epic joy to viewers. The bow and arrow fight sequences remain legendary even today. Mukesh Khanna, Pankaj Dheer, Gajendra Chouhan, Roopa Ganguly, Puneet Issar, Nitish Bhardwaj and others gained popularity due to the show.

Giant Robot: Remember a little Japanese boy controlling a giant robot with a watch-like device? Giant Robot was among the earliest sci-fi shows telecast on Indian television, and remains fresh in memory even today.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was, without doubt, the most popular cartoon superhero series of its time.

Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad: A still from Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, the American sci-fi series that became quite a craze among kids and teenagers when it was telecast in India.

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