Before Sarabhai vs Sarabhai became one of India's most loved sitcoms, it had a very different start – one that even its lead actor, Satish Shah, called a “failure.” The veteran actor, who died in Mumbai on Saturday at the age of 74, once revealed that the cult classic was actually among his lowest-rated shows when it first aired.
In an old interview with DNA, Satish Shah spoke candidly about how Sarabhai vs Sarabhai did not get the attention it deserved in the beginning.
“Let me tell you something, we did the serial as a weekly. However, at that time it was not publicised much. By the time people got to know that it's a good serial and started watching it, it was taken off air due to lack of TRPs! It was the first failure of my career on TV. I felt bad. Later, the show was re-run as a daily. That's when people got hooked on it,” he said.
Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, which premiered in 2004, followed the hilarious lives of an upper-class Mumbai family and their contrasting personalities. Satish played Indravadan Sarabhai, a mischievous and witty father who constantly teased his daughter-in-law, Monisha. The series also starred Ratna Pathak Shah as the sophisticated Maya Sarabhai, Rupali Ganguly as the simple and lovable Monisha, Sumeet Raghavan as the sensible Sahil, and Rajesh Kumar as the unforgettable Roshesh. Deven Bhojani's Dushyant Painter added his own dose of tech-loving humour to the mix.
Despite its brilliant writing and performances, the show did not click with audiences initially. Satish Shah had mentioned that he even took a pay cut to be part of it. “The irony is Sarabhai was a big flop when it was released the first time, otherwise it would have been still running. And that was one show for which I had compromised on my remuneration, too,” he had said.
It was only after Sarabhai vs Sarabhai returned as a daily rerun that people discovered its charm.
Following Satish Shah's death, P.D. Hinduja Hospital and Medical Research Centre shared an official statement. “We are deeply saddened by the passing of veteran actor Mr Satish Shah… Despite the best efforts of our medical team, Mr Shah could not be revived,” the statement read. Click here to read the full story.
