Khichdi (TV series)
| Khichdi |
| Genre |
sitcom |
| Created by |
Hats Off Productions
UTV Software Communications |
| Written by |
Aatish Kapadia |
| Directed by |
Aatish Kapadia |
| Country of origin |
India |
| Language(s) |
Hindi |
| No. of seasons |
1 |
| No. of episodes |
Total 98 |
| Production |
| Executive producer(s) |
Ronnie Screwvala
Zarina Mehta |
| Producer(s) |
J.D. Majethia
Aatish Kapadia |
| Broadcast |
| Original channel |
STAR Plus |
| Original airing |
September 10, 2002 |
| External links |
| Website |
Khichdi is a Hindi language sitcom produced by UTV Software Communications, which debuted on STAR Plus on September 10, 2002.[1] The series has reran on STAR Plus and its sister channels several times. Unlike other Hindi sitcoms, which continuously air throughout the year, Khichdi is one of the earliest shows on Indian television to adopt the Western model of appearing in seasons. The second season was called Instant Khichdi, which made its debut on STAR Plus's sister channel, STAR One.
Khichdi is widely considered by audiences and television critics to be one of the finest examples of true situation comedy in India. It does not use a laugh track like many Indian comedy shows, but instead relies on its deadpan humour (a la The Simpsons) and its witty lines to become its unique selling point. The well etched out characters have become almost cult icons of Indian television, which is otherwise obsessed with family soaps. The reruns have aired on several channels including Star Utsav and POGO.
Premise
Khichdi follows the story of a Gujarati family called Parekhs, who live in an old mansion. The joint family encounters many typically Indian situations, but they try to solve it in the most atypical fashion imaginable. Joint Families — the moment we hear this term a host of characters pop up in our minds. Scheming sisters-in-law, stuck up mother-in-law, clumsy servants, teary eyed grandparents and assorted youngsters. Khichdi is also one such joint family. However, this family has one thing that makes it distinct. This family is funny.
They laugh and make others laugh. This does not mean that they are bumbling idiots who scream shout and scamper like nitwits to create humour. They are real people with real problems and real idiosyncrasies. This is a funny bunch of people that is firmly united in their movement to get separated. They want to sell their ancestral property and move out and form their own nuclear families. But the head of their family doesn't agree.
He gives them the choice to walk out, but on their own steam and nobody is ready to let go of the money that's due to them. So they stay together and wait for the 'head' to change his mind or stop breathing, whichever happens first. And this is where our upwardly mobile middle class joint family faces its trails and tribulations in life.
Khichdi, explained in one simple word, is a look at the lighter side of an Indian joint family. There is no legacy of any empire, so no business feuds take place. However, conquering the one and only bedroom shall be a major issue. The good woman has a bad side and the bad woman is just great. They are people with grey shades to them, people whom the audience can identify with.
Characters
Main characters:
- Tulsidas, the family patriarch. He is always in a bad mood but is known to have a good heart. His wife, Damyanti died after some years of marriage. He lives with his family in his very old ancestral house called 'Mohan Niwas' and doesn't agree to sell it at any cost. He is seen to be fed up of his family members but at the end, he loves them. All family members calls him 'Babuji'.
- Praful, eldest son of Tulsidas. He is notoriously stupid. He is often seen interpreting things at face value, leading to hilarious situations. He never does any work accurately which makes people mad at him, especially Tulsidas. He also translates the English words to his wife although they are incorrect. e.g. Magical becomes Magi kal.
- Hansa, Praful’s wife and equally, if not more, stupid. She never works in house while saying that,"Mein kaam karoongi". She is always fully dressed up and cannot live without wearing 'Gajre' over her hairs. She doesn't speak English and hence translated by Praful to her which itself has a great comic side.
- Jayshree, widowed daughter-in-law of Tulsidas. She is wife of Praful's expired brother, Bharat. She loves to cook & gossip and is mostly on a phone to her Ba. She seemed to take control of house. She aims to sell 'Mohan Niwas' and live in an independent apartment. She always irritates Tulsidas while serving tea to him. Interestingly, Hansa and Jayshree are childhood friends and hence, both of them have very good relations with each other.
- Chakki, daughter of Praful and Hansa. Unlike her parents, she is intelligent. She has a catchphrase of "Bade Log Bade Log" which she says along with Jacky.
- Jacky, son of Jayshree. Like Chakki, he is also intelligent and has a catchphrase of "Bade Log Bade Log" which he says along with Chakki.
Secondary characters:
- Badi Maa, mother of Tulsidas. Her name is Tiwariben Parekh. She is very fun loving and very fond of pani-puri.
- Raju, third son of Tulsidas. He starts flirting with any young beautiful girl he meets. He is married to Mellisa.
- Mellisa, Raju's wife. She is beautiful and well-educated . She came from a Christian family. Tulsidas regularly says, "Maine to pehle hi kaha tha yeh ladki raju ke liye theek nahi hai". Jayshree is jealous of her and calls her 'kadki.
- Heera,daughter of Tulsidas. She is very lazy and always has the urge to go to toilet. She is half-an-hour elder than her fraternal-twin sister Mira.
- Mira, youngest daughter of Tulsidas. She always behaves as a teacher and holds a teaching stick in her hands. She is married to Bhaweshkumar.
- Bhavesh Kumar, Mira's husband. He lives with Parekhs instead of living in his own house. He is always hungry and keeps eating all the time without doing any work.
- Madhuri, personal servant of Heera. Interestingly, Tulsidas is scared of her because she always gets angry on him.
- Himanshu, Hansa's brother. He has a Catering business. He comes to live with Parekhs. His common dialogue is 'Kissi ko pata bhi nahi chalega'. He gets married to Parminder.
- Jignesh, Jayeshree's brother. He comes to live with Parekhs during Himanshu's Marriage. He irritates everyone by repeating same sentence three times.
- Mr. Mehta, Boss of Praful. He always gets mad at Praful's mistakes.
- Jagdamba Maami, aunt of Tulsidas. According to her last wish, Parekhs go to live in her house called 'Jagdamba Niwas' after her death.
Awards
Khichdi has been almost continuously awarded by various television awards in the country, ever since its debut, including the in-house Star Parivaar Awards
Movie
Khichdi: The Movie, a movie based on the series was released on 1 October.
See also
References
- ^ "Star to launch new weekly comedy in September". Indiantelevision.com. August 22, 2002. http://www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k2/aug/aug131.htm.
External links