Probably ,the era of family entertainment started with this show or so, i feel.This cult classic is remembered by one and all ,esp. kids of 90’s including me.Produced by Jaya Bachchan and directed by Anand Mahendroo, the show spanned three generations of a chirpy and perky Diwan family, who live as an extended family in Mumbai.
It made an intelligent choice by representing each generation by a character in a show.Whether u talk about the grand parents essayed brilliantly by Sushma Seth or parents played by Farida Jalal and Navin Nischol or the lovely chacha-chachi : Shekar Suman and Bhavna Balsavar or kids fondly called as sanju, kirti etc.All characters represented an age group and that it did it in style.People could identify themselves in these characters and that’s the reason it became successful.
Right from the dialogues to the acting,every thing was up to mark.The comic timing was simply amazing and when all these characters were involved in a situation, it turned a serious one into a laugh riot.Not to forget the catchphrases used by characters like the one used by Shekar’s mom-in-law-‘Tere muh mein keede,tere muh mein dhool’ or by Bhavna(known as chachi)-‘somu rae’ etc all these added a unique flavor to the show which was well received by audience.My personal favorite was ‘Chachu’ played by Shekhar Suman.Superb acting and awesome comic timing was highlight of this character,he made u laugh even on some simplest of dialogues and his antics were just too good.
All in All the show was a classic and set a benchmark for others.It ran successfully for four years from 1993-1997 on DD National but its popularity could gauged from the fact that it was rerun on other channels like Sony, Sab etc till 2005 and even that got great response.
I do wish the makers comeback with this show and all characters.Sometime back there was a gossip going around of comeback but nothing happened but u never say never..!!!
If i missed something feel free to add.