Vikram Aur Betaal was a children's television programme aired on DD National. The series contained stories from Indian mythology that aim at teaching kids life lessons while entertaining them. The concept of the program was based on Baital Pachisi, a collection of tales about the semi-legendary King Vikram and the Vetala, a vampire-like being.
Flop Show is an Indian television sitcom that first aired on Doordarshan in 1989. The show was written and directed by satirical humourist Jaspal Bhatti, who also played himself as the main character. His wife Savita Bhatti produced the show and also acted in all the episodes as his wife. The sitcom was a satire on the socio-cultural problems faced by the common man in India at the time. Although only 10 episodes of the show were ever produced, the show has had a long and powerful legacy.
Suraag – The Clue is an Indian television detective-crime drama series that aired on DD National in the late 90s on every Monday at 10:00 to 11:00 pm IST. The series, starring Sudesh Berry as CID Inspector Bharat in the main lead, was directed by Gautam Adhikari and produced by Shri Adhikari Brothers Limited. In the drama, Inspector Bharat and his assistant Inspector Srivastav formed a formidable partnership in solving crimes, mostly murder mysteries. This series, unlike previous detective-crime dramas in India, involved tackling of one case every episode and seldom were the story or case of one episode continued to the next one.
Jaspal Bhatti's satirical comedy show, which aired on DD National. Ace comedian Jaspal Bhatti comments on daily situations in his unique humorous manner.
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi was a popular comedy sitcom on Indian television, aired for the first time in 1984. It was written by comedy writer Sharad Joshi and directed by Kundan Shah, S. S. Oberoi and Raman Kumar.
It was one of the first sitcoms and one of the biggest hit shows on Indian television after the state owned television, Doordarshan, started sponsoring its programs.
Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne was a popular Hindi TV comedy serial directed by Prakash Jha that revolved around the life of Mungerilal, played by Raghubir Yadav. The serial was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and was loosely conceptualized on James Thurber's novel The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Indradhanush was an Indian children's television series, a mixture of Sci-Fiction and Fantasy, aired on DD National channel. The series aired on every Sundays, and was produced and directed by Anand Mahendra.
A collection of six short stories by Chekhov dealing with emotions in relationships running the gamut of trite power plays, sublime love, the commonplace everyday to exceptional circumstances, from the abyss of poverty to the idle games of the rich.
The Sword of Tipu Sultan was an Indian historical drama that was first broadcast on the DD National in 1990. Based on a novel by Bhagwan Gidwani, this drama was a portrayal of the life and times of Tipu Sultan, the famous ruler of Mysore.
The drama faced lot of controversies that included a major fire accident that happened on the sets in 1990; the fire, which took place in Mysore, burnt down a major portion of the Premier Studios where the drama was being shot and claimed 62 lives.
The series was widely praised for its authenticity, casting and grandeur.
Katha Sagar was a popular Indian television series that aired on DD National in 1986. The series was directed by Shyam Benegal along with many renowned directors. The series featured a collection of stories by world famous short story writers such as Guy De Maupassant, Rabindranath Tagore, Leo Tolstoy, O. Henry, Anton Chekov etc.
The series had different stories in each episode and most of the stories in the series were one-episode long. At that time, many other shows like "Darpan" and "Ek Kahaani", based on similar concept were aired around the same time as this series on DD National.
After many years of it original run, the series was again produced by Prem Krishen Malhotra & Sunil Mehta, founders of "Cinevista Communications Limited".
Captain Vyom is an Indian science fiction television series that aired on DD National channel in the late 1990s. The series aired in India on DD1 every Sunday morning at 10. It became extremely popular among youth because of its concept of time machine and the world of 2220. The titular character was played by Indian model Milind Soman. Later on, the series was re-aired on SAB TV channel.
Chandrakanta is an Indian fantasy television series partly based on Devaki Nandan Khatri's novel of the same name. It was originally telecast on Doordarshan's DD National between 1994 and 1996 and was produced by Nirja Guleri and directed by Sunil Agnihotri.
The serial was controversially pulled off air by Doordarshan in 1996 and the producers had to file a suit in court for reinstatement. It later enjoyed reruns on Star Plus and Sony Entertainment Television.
Rajani was a popular TV series aired on Doordarshan in Mid 80s directed by Basu Chatterjee. It had Priya Tendulkar in lead role. It became immensely popular for creating awareness among lax government offices and officials. It was written by Karan Razdan who also acted in the series.
Aaryamaan - Brahmaand Ka Yoddha is an Indian superhero space opera TV series that aired on Doordarshan's national network DD National. The sci-fi drama was produced under the banner of Bheeshm International by Mukesh Khanna, who had earlier created and donned the lead role in India's first television superhero Shaktimaan in 1997. It held the record of the most expensive Indian television drama ever for a short period.
Hum Log was Indian television's first soap opera. It began telecast on Doordarshan, India's national network on July 7, 1984, then the only television channel of India, and it quickly became immensely popular. Indian audiences loved the show and the characters became legendary and a common topic of discussion. Hum Log is the story of an Indian middle-class family of the 1980s and their daily struggles and aspirations.
The idea of the TV series came to then Information and Broadcasting Minister, Vasant Sathe, after a Mexican trip in 1982, and soon the idea for Hum Log was developed in collaboration with writer Manohar Shyam Joshi, who scripted the series, and filmmaker, P. Kumar Vasudev, who went on direct the series. The title score was composed by music director Anil Biswas.
Aankhen is 104 episode Indian television drama series premiered on DD National in 2001. It was directed by Amrit Sagar and Shakti Sagar and produced by Jyoti Sagar.