Before Indian
television was taken over by a wave of soap operas and over the top
cartoons, Malgudi Days on Doordarshan presented a down-to-earth look
into Indian society.
The show never
strived to be extra ordinary. Directed by the famous Kannada
actor/director Shankar Nag, the show would nonchalantly steal the
hearts of viewers with it's ordinary plots set in the imaginary
village of Malgudi. The show was shot entirely in Shimoga district,
around 50-odd kilometres from Manipal. The house, which served as the
location for the show, still stands today, as hospitable as ever.
The show had a
different kind of impact on it's viewers in comparison to the shows
dominating Indian television today. Even though Malgudi was
imaginary, it painted a realistic picture of a typical Indian
household.
Airing on Sunday
mornings, the show is still fondly remembered for the innocence of
Swami played by Master Manjunath. I had the pleasure of meeting the
lead actor Anant Nag in Manipal recently. He recalls acting in the
show as a beautiful experience. At the time, the potential of Malgudi
Days was not clear but now, almost thirty years since the show first
started airing on Doordarshan, it is safe to say that it has carved a
niche for itself among followers of Indian televison.
Today, television in India is dominated by never-ending soap operas and grossly exaggerated shows like Çhota Bheem'. In comparison, Malgudi Days kept it simple and won it's viewers over. The show and it's characters have since taken a life of their own, if only in the minds of it's viewers.
A still from Malgudi Days
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