Surfing through my Instagram feed recently, I saw that the cast of the 2004’s hit Star TV show Shararat, were having a lovely little reunion. Nostalgia took me back right back to my school days, when I would run home from school to catch my favourite show on TV. Seeing their selfies, I couldn’t help but wonder how fun it would be for the show to make a comeback today.
TV shows from the last decade were more imaginative, than the current family conspiracies and supernatural crap being aired. But I still remember Shararat as the sweet and simple slice-of-life family drama, that made me chuckle. It might be too simplistic for today, but with new-age touches, it’ll surely work its magic.
Pam’s chamchas, Meeta’s constant drooling for Raja, Jiya’s natkhat fights with her boyfriend Dhruv and Nani’s magical twitching get me all nostalgic. Suraj Malhotra’s helpless husband act was refreshing and my heart went out to him for craving ‘normal’ in the chaos created by mischief.
And of course, who can forget the ideal portrayal of the annoying neighbour Shanti, who only caused ashanti. Remember how Nani (Fareeda Jalal) used magic to help Jiya (Shruti Seth) find out how Dhruv really felt about her? She always had the best dating tips. If only these characters existed today, TV would be fun again.
1. An Edgy Tagline
If Jiya existed today, I think her character would have a more independent streak. That’s why I think the show’s tagline should be a more clever version of the original- thoda jadoo, thodi nazaakat. Maybe even ‘thoda jadoo, thodi selfies’ :P I won’t be shocked if Pam and Jiya fight over who gets the best selfie with Dhruv, the college casanova.
2. It’s All About the Wi-Fi Password
In the older version of the show Shanti, Jiya’s next door neighbour, would keep ringing the bell to get her hands on some gossip, on the pretext of borrowing some sugar. Her suspicious streak always kept her interested in the Malhotra household. But today, all a nosy neighbour wants is your wi-fi password. Even your own guests will ask you for it before enquiring “what’s for dinner?”.
3. Nani Ji Gets WhatsApp-ing
.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
With our 21st century grandma joining the smartphone bandwagon, random gyaan and OTT jokes would make for the 100 unread WhatsApp messages Jiya would find when she wakes up in the morning. I think Nani would thrive on lame forwards and naughty non-veg jokes too. She might even sneak in a few to Jiya’s friends from her phone, and have a laugh. She’s cool like that. But how does Nani kill time during the day? Candy Crush of course!
4. Jiya’s Love Life Through Facebook DPs
A lot can happen over coffee and Facebook. But Jiya will make sure the world knows what she’s up to and how she’s feeling, in hashtags. Every milestone of her relationship with Dhruv will be a status update. And for all you know, the young couple might not take as long to realise their feelings for each other, at least not as much as they do in the original. Parminder aka Pam’s FB likes will probably still make Jiya just as jealous. But who knows, she might use her magical powers to block Pam on Dhruv’s Facebook account. Meeta will get one more way to stalk Raja. What fun!
5. A F.r.i.e.n.d.s Wala Couch at a Coffee House?
Youngsters these days are all about chilling over coffee and sheesha. The revamped version of the show will most likely see Jiya’s gang of friends hanging out at a cafe, or in a college canteen, busy sharing gossip over WhatsApp. Maybe they’ll even show a few drunk nights and hungover weekends. All we know is, a selfie will be taken and shared on every occasion.
Given that Nani actually predicted the smartphone revolution in one of the show’s most hilarious episodes, Shararat is a show that’ll be very relatable in its new avatar, because frankly, magic will always be just as fun.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)