We get celebrities to give their take on a current issue each week and lend their perspective to a much-discussed topic. This week we talk about: ’90s revival and nostalgia
Captain Vyom, Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai and most importantly, Pokemon — these are just a few examples of things from the glorious decade of ’90s that are making a resurgence today. However, not all the great things about the decade have been lucky enough to get a second life. Making us wonder, if celebrities had a choice to bring back one thing from the ’90s era of TV and pop culture, what would it be?
Ahmed Sidhique, Actor and scriptwriter: Bring back ’90s emotion
It’s not any of the shows or movies or games that I want to bring back. It’s an emotion. It’s that particular feeling that I experienced when I saw a movie on television, for which I waited. Nothing was on demand back then, we had to wait for a particular film’s re-run on television if there was no cassette tape available at home for it. The excitement I experienced watching movies like CBI Diary, Kurippu or Pattanapravesham on TV cannot be matched by anything these days, because now, if I want to see a movie or series, I just get on Netflix or its alternatives and watch it. That excitement and feeling is gone. I would love to feel that once again, I really would.
Rahul Ravi, Actor: It has to be Shaktimaan
If I had a choice to bring back one character from the ’90s, it has to be our dear Shaktimaan. As a kid, I loved watching him on screen. The way he swirls and fights against evil forces excited me as a kid. I wish he would return to our lives in form of a game. Then we will have our own superhero. But, he should change his style to be in sync with the new generation. Those days, we did not have many options and hence we admired the character so deeply. However, when I watch the old Shaktimaan series now, I feel that the making style needs improvement. I wish to see him adopting better mannerisms during his comeback. He doesn’t need to change his signature costume; but sporting a new hairstyle would look good.
Terence Lewis, Choreographer: Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was the first sitcom on Indian TV
The ’90s brought the advent of cable and we got exposure to private networks like Star and Zee! A few years before this, the only source of entertainment was DD. The shows that made the most impact on me were Tamas, Hum Log and of course laugh a riot — Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, which later got replaced by Hum Paanch, which was equally hilarious. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was
the first sitcom on Indian TV and it captured humour so well. The relationship of a married couple, Swarup Sampat and Shafi Inamdar was adorable and all the goof ups were clean and innocent and didn’t border on sexual innuendos. I remember we didn’t have a TV set so we used to run to the neighbour’s house at eight pm to watch it. We waited for it as it was not a daily show and hence we were not spoilt for choices.
Amit Ranjan, Supermodel: Sideburns should make a comeback
If we talk of the visual medium, Mowgli from Jungle Book is one character I’ve grown up admiring and I would really want it to make a comeback. It was a Sunday ritual to sit and watch Jungle Book with friends and family on our black and white television sets. The notion of a child growing up among beasts was something very inspiring. Another retro trend from the fashion industry that should make a comeback is sideburns or mutton chops facial hair trend. Who can forget George Best, Jack Nicholson, Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan’s awesome sideburns and the machismo it defined!
Lekha Washington, Actor: Bring back Super mario cartridges
There are many things I want to bring back from the ’90s era. I am a big-time fan of singers like Prince and Michael Jackson. They are amazing singers and were from out of this world. They’ve enthralled an entire generation with their songs. I loved listening to them on my walkman. If I wanted to bring back something from the ’90s it would be my walkman with Prince and Michael Jackson songs. And who can forget the Super Mario video games? If you give me another chance, I would like to bring back the Super Mario cartridges.
Saad Khan, Filmmaker: The content was strong and varied
To begin with, the ’90s had more space for us. More personal space and more space even on television to let shows and soaps take their time, breathe and drive the story forward without any force. The audiences at that time also had a better attention span, or at least the simplicity of the shows gave us that feeling. Shows such as Dekh Bhai Dekh, Hum Paanch, Zabaan Sambhal Ke, Hum Log, Jaspal Bhatti’s satirical Flop Show, Channel V’s Timex, Timepass with Javed Jaffrey entertained us without hurrying up the television-viewing process. Reality shows and dramatic serials barged into this milieu where the edits became super fast, gimmicky yet repetitive, and every episode had to have a potboiler type climax. Those who were able to savour Indian television of the ’90s era woke up to a particular TV show on Sunday morning or waited for a re-run of a comedy show on a Saturday afternoon. All this was because the content was strong, varied and didn’t push itself out to cater to everyone.
