Nithyashree Mahadevan, whose voice rang through every household in the 90s as the clock struck 9:30 pm, as she sang Kannin Mani, the title song for Raadhika’s breakthrough TV show Chithi, has made a comeback and how. Sun TV which is bringing the show back, realises the importance of nostalgia here. They tweeted the promo, calling out to 90s kids. The promos for the new edition of Chithi all feature Nithyashree’s voice, and tell us Raadhika will yet again play the quintessential middle class woman. One who will fight all odds. Chithi 2’s announcement came out of the blue and has stunned audiences. It also shows us why Raadhika remains one of the most astute television personalities of India. It was Chithi that set the mega serial biz running. It is now nothing short of an industry that supports thousands of artistes — actors, technicians, and launches talents. It will be interesting to see how Raadhika takes her own vision forward, by going back to square one. Chithi 2 will premiere on January 27 on Sun TV
Here are five other 90s serials we’d love to have, back on our screens.
Dekh Bhai Dekh
A superb ensemble crew of the who’s who of Indian cinema’s character artistes were assembled, under the same roof. What else would ensue but laughter and confusion, chaos and love. The Diwans’ joint family today, would be interesting and have newer challenges to face! It was produced by Jaya Bachchan.
Penn
Penn is the kind of show you’d expect Netflix to commission today. Suhasini Maniratnam’s eight-episode offering that aired on Doordarshan featured eight women protagonists. Each played by powerhouse Tamil artistes who were leading ladies then, Amala, Bhanupriya, Geetha, Revathy, Raadhika, Saranya, Shobanaa, and Suhasini herself. Penn was female gaze at its sharpest.
Vikram Betal
After watching Pushkar-Gayatri’s Vikram Vedha, we are convinced that a new, fun remake of Vikram Betal would not only be interesting in terms of the competition between two characters out to get each other, but also in terms of situating moral quandaries in 2020.
Marmadesam
Naga’s series had several seasons, was superbly researched and redefined the mystery genre in Tamil television. It too launched some of the best artistes in South Indian cinema today. Marmadesam married the intrigue of our past with the scepticism of the present perfectly. That the mystery was rooted in Tamil Nadu, in stories we’ve all heard about, made them accessible to everyone.
Ramani vs Ramani
This too was a Naga offering. The series came in two seasons, while one featured Babloo and Vasuki, the other featured Devadarshini and Ramji. The hook in both series is that it’s about a young kooky couple, with both husband and wife named Ramani.
