Daily Times

Popular television sitcom ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ gained cult status for its unique writing, pitch-perfect acting and classic one-liners.

Writer Aatish Kapadia, however, was shocked to find its copied version being streamed at a digital platform.

Aatish Kapadia took to Facebook and wrote a long note. He wrote: Morning began with a forwarded video link. I opened it and saw a ‘word to word’ ‘frame to frame’ unofficial remake of our show ‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’. By someone from our not so amicable neighbours, to our west.

It has been shamelessly put on a free video streaming platform and the actors have performed my written word so badly, that I cringed! I mean getting inspired and having made a show on the lines of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is understandable. Khichdi had inspired many makers to come up with a show on the lines of Khichdi. The problem of course was that they didn’t understand the logic behind creating those illogical people. Similarly, inspired versions of Sarabhai have got it wrong, because they thought it was a show only about class conflict; which was just one aspect of it. Written by using inversion as a tool.

‘It has been shamelessly put on a free video streaming platform and the actors have performed my written word so badly, that I cringed! I mean getting inspired and having made a show on the lines of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is understandable’

But this blatant copy!??? My god it’s appalling. My request to my friends is to NOT give that show ‘views’, by chance you’ll come across that daylight robbery. So much for copyright! And I don’t mean the technical copyright. I mean the shameful lack of conscience that those thieves displayed while lifting the show, lock stock and barrel! Waiting for poetic justice, if there’s any. P.s imitation is the best form of flattery. But lack of permission before illegal imitation is amorality.

‘Sarabhai vs Sarabhai’ was first telecast in 2004. The show was created by Jamnadas Majethia and Aatish Kapadia, directed by Deven Bhojani. It featured Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Rupali Ganguly, and Rajesh Kumar.