India is a country of ‘mediocre people’, says JD Majethia as he explains why Sarabhai vs Sarabhai flopped initially: ‘Don’t want to use their brains’

“There is a lot to learn there. India is a country of mediocre people, especially in TV viewing. Mediocre as in, main bura nahi bol raha hu, I mean that they don’t expect some super intelligent cinema in life, they just want some light-hearted stuff, the middle-class mentality of, ‘I have come back home after a long day, just give me something feel good to watch or drama for women.’ They don’t want to use their brains a lot.

“Now, in this scenario, comes this comedy which has an excellent writing by Aatish Kapadia. It was important to have the knowledge of vocabulary (to enjoy it). Also, it would air every Monday, so the habit couldn’t get established. Those who would watch the show would love it. There was not much scope repeat viewing in those days, so they’d have to wait for the next Monday to watch the new episode,” the producer said.

The producer said it was later when the repeat telecast started on Life Ok every day of the week, that the audience “just loved it” as they got to watch Sarabhai vs Sarabhai on a regular basis. But the true explosion of the show happened with the internet era.

“By then YouTube had come and was gaining prominence. It was there where people actually discovered the show. The listing of best comedy shows watched across India would have Khichdi and Sarabhai on top of Friends and other American shows! The show didn’t work in the first season, but till today is rated as one of the best comedy shows of India. I am very happy with its journey,” he added.

The show revolved around the Sarabhais, a quintessential upper-class Gujarati family living in the upmarket neighbourhood of Cuffe Parade in South Mumbai. Sarabhai vs Sarabhai returned for its season two on Disney Plus Hotstar in 2017 but wasn’t as well received as the first season.