In 2004, when producer JD Majethia was looking for a place to shoot his newly-conceived show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai , he stumbled upon a location in Kandivali. Work started on the sets, but within a week, they realised they were caught in a redevelopment battle.
The floor belonged to a man who refused to sell his portion to the builder, who had taken the rest of the property. The builder said he would not create any trouble if he was given the property instead of the owner once the shoot was done. “It was against our morals, values and ethics. So we bid him goodbye,” recalls Majethia. Finally, the set was put up at Kanjurmarg.
Aatish Kapadia’s conception of an elite, class-conscious Gujarati family had its seed in the American sitcom Dharma & Greg, which focused on the cultural clashes between the leads. In Sarabhai... , the family members’ traits were exaggerated to make for a funny, satirical take on class war.
Despite critical acclaim, it was lost in the K-soap-tsunami, and went off air after a year and a half. But on social media, it built a cult following seldom witnessed by any Hindi comedy show, gathering high points on IMDB as well.
Years later, in 2016, in an informal party at Satish Shah’s house, the question of a comeback popped up. With their new season airing on Hotstar, we swung by to meet the Sarabhais again, all except Satish Shah who was unwell. We learnt that Rupali Ganguly (Monisha) gets ragged the most, Sumeet Raghavan (Sahil) is as affable as his on-screen persona, Rajesh Kumar (Rosesh) prefers being calm, and Ratna Pathak Shah (Maya) remains the sharpest, with her Maggie Smith-esque acid tongue. Excerpts from a chat.
What is your memory of the first day of shoot?
Ratna: All I remember is that on the first two days, I had this awful headache because of the fresh paint and the rubber solution that was used [on the sets], and I was supposed to be Maya with all these strange blouses.
Sumeet: Mine was an outdoor at Gorai with Yatin Karyekar. I was a bit nervous. I loved travelling to the set which JD [Majethia] had erected in a dormant mill. It wasn’t like a typical studio set.
Rupali: When I reached the set, I was told I am sharing the room with Mummy. I came with 20 plastic bags, hunched in a corner, and I took the smallest bed. But she told me, “You should take the bigger bed and bigger mirror, tumhe zarurat padegi (You’ll need it).” And then the ragging started.
Rajesh: I was paid the least amount of attention. The hairdresser and stylist were trying different looks. Spikes were in that time. But after 45 minutes, I was irritated and just pulled my hair down. And that became my style.
How different are you from your on-screen character? What are the things you like and dislike about it?
Ratna: I am Maya personally, except I don’t get to say things that I think about. What I like about her is that she is really frank. What I don’t like is her genuine fondness for the successful, the powerful and the elite. I try to make Maya as bitchy and sharp as possible because I want to put the mirror up in front of people who’re going in that direction. Is that what we want to be? Imagine a whole nation of Mayas!
Sumeet: Sahil is a saint, I am exactly the opposite. However, both of us are patient listeners and practical to some extent. But Sahil has to break free. Everybody is crazy around him, but he is so cool. Come on yaar, Sahil.
Rupali: Honestly, there is no difference between Monisha and me. My husband tells me that Aatish has a camera fitted in our house and what I do is actually written by him. If I had to correct something about her, it would be just a little less mess.
Rajesh: Rajesh and Rosesh are absolutely different. Rajesh is more spiritual, Rosesh is not. What I like is that Rosesh can be irritating but loveable at the same time.
Apart from your own, which other character from the show would you like to play? Is there any character you find boring?
Ratna: I’d love to play Indravadan. I love the laidback quality, nothing really touches him. I won’t do Sahil because he never gets to do anything interesting.
Sumeet: I like Monisha’s character, because she is clean hearted. Whatever strange things she does, there is absolute conviction on her part. But I won’t do Indravadan, no. There’s nothing to do in that character.
Rupali: Monisha is the best thing I could do. But one day, when I have enough experience and am old enough, I’d love to play Maya.
Rajesh: I can mimic other characters now, but I’d never be able to justify any other character. So I would settle for Rosesh.
Is there any sitcom that you like to watch?
Ratna:Yes Minister . I love English humour, and the bureaucracy with all its absurdity is just hilarious.
Sumeet:Friends . You can just start anywhere and watch it.
Rupali:Friends . That’s the show I can binge-watch anytime.
Rajesh: I find Permanent Roommates very funny. Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, which had Sumeet in it, was funny too.
The writer is a journalist and a screenwriter who believes in the insanity of words, in print or otherwise; and tweets @RanjibMazumder
