All Time Favourite Sit-coms of Indian Television

Hindi Sitcoms:  Indian television has given some of the most iconic plots and characters with its sitcoms. While today’s generation may only be aware of ‘Friends’ or ‘How I Met Your Mother’ as the go-to sitcoms, there has been a generation that giggled and laughed at the punchlines of ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ or ‘Khichdi’. While Western sitcoms have surely developed into cult classics, closer home, these sitcoms have struck their audience with their subtle wits, hands-on comedy and even touching upon topics that were way ahead of their time. 

Taarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chasma 

‘Taarak Mehta Ka Ulta Chasma’,  created by Asit Kumarr Modi has been a successfully running show for over 15 years now with over 4,058 episodes.  The show surrounds two friends Jethala and Taarak Mehta. The former is usually stuck in conundrums and challenges, whereas the latter helps him out of it. The show every now and then also touches on social issues. The show stars Dilip Joshi, Disha Vakani, and Shailesh Lodha in primary roles. 

The Kapil Sharma Show 

Hosted by Kapi; Sharma, ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ used to broadcast on Sony Entertainment. The show is primarily a talk and stand-up comedy show with elements of stock characters and comic skits performed by them on stage. The show is a regular in Indian households, enjoyed by people across generations popularly viewed as a sit-com show family show.  

Office-Office 

Written by Ashwini Dhir, the first episode of ’Office-Office’ premiered in September 2001. The show stars Pankaj Kapur as Mussadi Lal, a man struggling in the administration of the government sector to get his work done. The show is a social satire on the deep-seated corruption in the offices of the country.    

Sarabhai VS Sarabhai

With an ensemble cast of  Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Rupali Ganguly, and Rajesh Kumar, ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ has been applauded for its ahead-of-time concept and writing. The show features two matriarchs leading their upper-middle-class Gujarati family living in the classy neighbourhood of Mumbai.

Khichdi 

The show that gave us always relatable Hansa Parekh, who you must have seen in a meme or two. Khichdi is a show about a Gujarati joint family united by the desire to separate. The only person between them and their wish to sell off their ancestral property is the old head of the family.   

Though made in the early 2000s these shows continue to influence the media today. Not to forget some of them have given iconic meme characters and content for us all. These shows can serve as a great icebreaker between parents, and young kids.