I still remember the day where the whole family used to huddle together near the idiot box at 9.30 PM in the evenings to watch one show which used to come in DD, which itself was dubbed from Hindi to Tamil, and goes by the name “Pidivatham”- for the less educated people- I am referring to one the earliest inventions by mankind, the legendary, “Junoon”. I still love to render the title track and couple of its infamous dialogues. What was so special, one might wonder, what with the dialogues mismatched, without any grammar above all (if you had watched the tamil version of Titanic, you will understand!). I still remember the times when my PaaTi used to wait for ‘Adikaari Brothers’ to devise some plot or my mom fawning over Kitu Gidwani’s hairdo. Then there was Swabhimaan, Hum Log, Ajnabi, Samay and etc wherein the dubbing would be even worse than Junoon. I sometimes think that these dubbing artists used to have amazing creative skills, in terms of dialogues delivery. Oooh..how can I forget the nail biter Chandrakanta or the vicious Kroor Singh (I used to wonder how they constructed his costume- still wondering!!).
Amidst the pleas of my mom to not sit in front of the TV, Sunday mornings used to start with ‘Ramayan’ and ‘Mahabharata’. I used to keep count of the number of times the songs used to get repeated in the sagas and wonder when the outlined yogi with the planets circling around used to float in air was gonna drop down. It’s the best feeling I tell you… getting up late in the morning…having those weekly oil baths..with sambrani scents in the air… with your PaTTi asking you to increase the volume in the already loud TV…along with your mom’s laments to help her out in the kitchen.. J…Golden times…
Most of all, I miss watching Dekh Bhai Dekh (the insane family show), Zabaan Sambhal ke (though I am quite pleased with the original English version, ‘Mind your Language’), Chitrahaar (Man…the whole family used to wait for it), Superhit Muqabula (where I used to get confused between Manisha Koirala and Madhuri Dixit.. :P ) ….Surabi (the number of times, I used to fill in the postcards to get a free trip to Singapore..Sigh!), Turning point(I remember vaguely only…who hosted the show???), Nonstop Nonsense (aww… who didn’t used to love that bumbling german detective…)
The show I sorely miss even till date, the show which I am praying to God for a repeat telecast, the one am searching for wildly for an online version -Telematch. The Pogo show, Takeshi’s Castle reminds me badly of my childhood!! For all the kind hearted souls, who think they would want to help out a helpless hag, please..please…do guide her…As a thank you..that lucky kozhande will get yummy homemade vatha-kozhambu… :D..Endapa…cheri thaana???
6 comments:
You keep making me homesick with these retro posts. I hated watching all the DD serials for the two months I was in Madras. It took me a long time to see the funny side of the atrocious dubbing. Telematch was awesome. In spite of us having the grainiest DD2 reception, I would still watch the whole thing. Telematch was way too funny compared to the forced Jaffrey track on Takeshis. I have been searching for it, but no success yet. There was also a circus/performance show which came along with it. There is one particular flute tune that I know by heart but want to see again. The curse of living in the analogue to digital transition. You can search but you cant always find. Thanks to Rajshri, we can at least watch Mahabharat again on Youtube. I used to get so excited seeing the title in Tamil and Telugu in the end credits. Hijacking your post I am. Forgiveses.
Mahaaaaaaaabhaaaarat! I remember waiting to watch the same clips of multiplying arrows re-used time and again whenever two princes fought. And of course, every 5 minutes, there would be a song! But the dubbing was pretty decent in that one. Junoon etc was really bad. There used to be something called Junoon Tamil - where people would go around talking like the people in dubbed Hindi shows for fun! Man, it was the dark ages before cable. BTW, vaththa kozhambu? Last I heard, you didn't know how to cook.
wow thts like my childhood days:) how come mami ur 63????? :O
I am echoing the comment of the previous blogger Maami. These remind me of my childhood and I am 24. Minor era mismatch? Wonderful shows all though .. those were the days ( Now I am speaking as though I am 63 )
Nostalgic again!
Turning Point was hosted by Girish Karnad the ace Kannada director.
ae yo maami :)
how are you .. and where are u ..very very long time ..
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