1. Malgudi Days
Starting in 1986, this television show was based on R. K. Narayan’s 1943 short story collection of the same name. Simple, non-fussy, and a complete family show centered around Swami and other residents of a small town called Malgudi, a place of our dreams today. Sleepy and laid back, people in Malgudi had a humble life going on with love and warmth. But the residents had to face several obstacles they confronted without giving up.
2. Duck Tales
Another childhood show that should come back to Indian TV is this. Back when gold was just a metal we were yet to get introduced to, and gold prices were just numbers on a newspaper print, Duck Tales was all things luxe. Watching a duck live with his nephews and swim in a warehouse full of gold was a life a lot of us would like today. Uncle Scrooge and his duck nephews were always out on an adventure, especially protecting his gold from the villains.
3. Boogie Woogie
Long before we had tonnes of dance reality shows and mainstream celebrities as guest judges coming to promote their movies, we had Boogie Woogie. A childhood show where the dance was the only hero and not TRP-garnering sob stories, watching this show was a relief from school and homework. Life was good for the peppy jingle, the Jaffrey brothers, and the incredible dance performances.
4. Hum Paanch
Ekta Kapoor’s comedy shows to Indians with this show will always remain legendary. This childhood show was a laughter fest, a talking portrait of five sisters who were all iconic in their ways and a father trying to maintain his sanity. This also marked Vidya Balan’s acting debut, which many of us weren’t aware of.
5. Teletubbies
The best thing about this childhood show is that you could switch it on and let it run in the background for hours. Nobody said anything, just Tinky-Winky, Dipsy, Laa Laa, and Po playing around, laughing, dancing, and singing as they went on about their days in the beautiful Teletubbyland. Who watched them over? The baby-faced sun.
6. Takeshi’s Castle
This is a childhood show making a comeback, and the 90s kid in us cannot keep calm. For a generation that grew up in the era of Pogo and Nickelodeon, watching people fall into mud puddles at Takeshi’s Castle was our idea of a fun childhood. In 2023, Amazon Prime will bring this show back in more than 240 markets.
7. Shararat
We wished we lived in a house with three magicians who could make anything and everything happen. That was Shararat for us. This childhood show was almost a dream world for desi kids in a house with three generations of magicians living in a ‘Muggleland,’ this childhood show was nearly a dream world for desi kids. So, even before the world had Harry Potter and the land of Hogwarts, we had this little corner of desi wizards.
