Daily Times

I was browsing through some shows on the HotStar app, (how I was using a geo-restricted app in Pakistan is a story for another day) and I stumbled upon the poster of the hit sitcom ‘Khichdi’. There was something different about this poster. The characters looked, well, aged. My immediate instinct proved right and it was indeed the latest season of the show returned only last week which is roughly 13 years after its second season ended in 2005. I jumped off my seat and screamed a little in excitement. Yes I’m that crazy a fan.

If you’re a 90s kid like myself, you’d remember Hansa Parekh’s infamous ‘hello, how are khana kha ke jana haan (don’t leave without eating)’ dialogue from the iconic Star Plus sitcom Khichdi. Being part of probably the craziest family in the world, Hansa along with Praful Parekh, Jayshri, Praful, Raju, Melisa, Jackie and Chucky are some of the characters from the show we used to love and adore.

Khichdi is as much a part of the Pakistani pop culture as it is of India because it broadcasted first through Star Plus in 2002. Believe it or not, Star Plus legally broadcasted and catered to Pakistani audience and advertisers at the time – and then a rerun on Punjabi network Apna channel. Yes, Hindi language show of Gujarati family aired on Pakistani Punjabi language TV channel. Such was the popularity of the show. Not just that, Khichdi inspired many family sitcoms in Pakistan as well at the time.

‘Khichdi’ has yet again surprised us by unadulterated fun and comedy that will make you laugh out loud

The season 3 of the show currently airs on Star Plus and online via the HotStar app. It’s not picked up by a Pakistani network yet but I can bet it’s only a matter of time. I was able to watch the first two episodes of the rebooted season online and am happy to pen my initial thoughts.

The new format of the show is an hour-long episode and is aired twice a week on the weekends. All main actors Supriya Pathak, Anang Desai, Rajeev Mehta, Vandana Pathak and Jamnadas Majethia return for the brand new season. Amit Varma and Tina Parekh who played Raju and Melisa in the first two seasons cannot be seen in the new season. They were dropped in the 2010 movie version of the show as well.

This season is set in the modern time and the plot features the Parekh family living in a building that was meant to be an apartment building, their new business, but the developer and construction company has ran away with their money and they are now living in the building with no proper walls and roof. It’s super creative and fun to watch.

Jayshri is as evil as she was in the first two seasons, but is more modern now. She’s seen gossiping with her baa (grandmother) using a Bluetooth earphone now where she asks her to WhatsApp her pictures from the prison.

Hansa and Praful are the bes – still in love as if newlyweds. She still gets riled up when she hears an English word she doesn’t know and looks to Praful asking the meaning and then he explains with a made up word that sounds similar.

Babuji still runs for his life but is stuck with the family and can’t get far so he ends up giving up on his anger instead.

Then there are Jackie and Chucky. Richa Bhadra and Yash Mittal who played these characters in the first two seasons are replaced with younger actors.

All in all, the test for any rebooted show is whether it can succeed in doing what it did the last time and after watching the first two episodes, it’s safe to say that it has. Khichdi has yet again surprised us by unadulterated fun and comedy that will make you laugh out loud. I personally think it would be even more amazing if they revived the characters of Raju and Melisa as well. But overall, I think it’s the job well done. I hope the show brings the ratings that it deserves and goes on for several more episodes.

Pakistani fans can watch it online for now or wait until a Pakistani network picks it up.

The writer is the Digital Editor, Daily Times and can be reached at me@farhanjanjua.com. He tweets and instagrams @FarhanJanjua

Published in Daily Times, April 20^th 2018.