The soap which made me smile

'Meri momma ka purse jaise hospital ki pyaari koi nurse'....these lines still manage to bring a smile to my lips.The characters, Maya,Indu, Sahil, Monisha,Rosesh and how can we forget the quintessential lunatic son-in-law, Dushyant.What a family! Sigh

Sarabhai v/s  Sarabhai,was one of the most popular and loved sitcoms in the history of the small screen entertainment in India.There had been serials and daily soaps depicting upper – class Gujarati families with a tinge of humour and a splash of satirical gags before this, but  the response Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai got was perhaps unparalleled and unprecedented in Indian television.What exactly made it a hit with the audience? Here are a few definite reasons:

First things first, the characters were outrageously hilarious.One completely insane Gujarati family.

Be it Indravadan Sarabhai(Satish Shah), the doting father who never missed an opportunity to make digs at his wife(Maya) and nothing amuses himself by picking on his erratic son Rosesh.Next in the queue is Maya Sarabhai(wonderful portrayal by Ratna Pathak Shah), she likes only crème de la crème in every aspect of her life and family.Her confrontations with her middle class daughter in law(Monisha) are suave and sugar-coated.Voila, a sight to watch!Sophistication was the keyword for Mrs.Sarabhai.

Next  character is Sahil Sarabhai(Sumeet Raghavan), who is  Maya’s eldest son and Monisha’s husband.A cosmetic surgeon by profession, he is  a quintessential example of a husband sandwiched between his mother and wife .He too like his father loves to tease Rosesh, his elder brother.

Monisha Sarabhai(Rupali Ganguly) is the wife of Sahil Sarabhai and the daughter in law of the family.Coming from a middle class Punjabi family, she has to bear the brunt of her extra elite, extra upper class mother in law and gets bashed regularly for keeping her house untidy.’Beta, you’re so middle class’ is the refrain she hears from her mother in law.

Another important person is Rosesh Sarabhai(Rajesh Kumar) who is the youngest son of Maya and Indrvadan.He’s a theatre artist and a wannabe poet(ends up writing lines that can make Ghalib shiver).He’s a ‘momma’s boy’ and because of his eccentric antics and whimsical personality and poetry, he is teased by his brother and father.

The other reasons making it popular were the screenplay and the dialogues.It wasn’t the quintessential slapstick  humour  that is generally served to the Indian humours , but more plot oriented  intelligent humour that became extremely hilarious at times. Lastly, the support cast was equally impressive.Be it Dushyant(Deven Bhojani at his best) or Madhusudan Phupha, all added to the laugh riot on the screen.

So many ‘quintessentials’ in my article,well that’s what Sarabhai’s do to you, because everything  about the show was …quintessential.

Leave the TRP’s and the other commercial terms aside, this show generated humour from the artificiality and the shallowness in the interactions of the city’s elite and their perceived notions of the shortcomings of the middle class family.It was indeed a light and a perfect watch!

The author earnestly hopes that it returns back to the small screen(so that people start watching Star One again) and entertains us for more years to come.

Before concluding the article, let me conclude the poetry(or the lack of it) from Rosesh Sarabhai:

"momaa ka purse jaise hospital ki pyaari si koi nurse
purse mein rakha tissue paper karta hai paseene ka ilaajaur lipstick ho jaise bhookhe honton ka anaaj
momaa ke purse ka hai makhmali sa sparsh
momaa ka purse
momaa ka purse "

Udit Bhatia

Electronics and Communication Engineering

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University