The return of Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai: My way of keeping people’s spirits high in Covid-19 crisis, says JD Majethia

He’s the man behind timeless shows such as Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, both of which have started re-airing now on popular demand in this lockdown. Actor-producer JD Majethia is naturally happy that his shows find acceptance even today.

“I had been receiving many messages on social media to bring back these shows again, and I agreed. I spoke to the channel about this, and they said even they were thinking the same! And it’s not just about my two shows coming back, but how they are contributing to people’s lives,” says the 51-year-old. 

In these tough times, where everyone is locked up inside their houses till April 14, though for their own good, Majethia feels the comedy quotient of these two shows will ‘lift people’s spirits’.

“Everyone doesn’t have access to OTT platforms, so being aired on channels and getting noticed isn’t difficult. Also, since the shows are being aired in the morning, you can start your day with laughter. It’s laughter therapy. I always saw our police and medical people contributing to make this situation better, and questioned myself ‘Why am I not being able to do something?’ So now with Sarabhai and Khichdi, I am doing social work inside homes. I had just started my journey as a producer with these shows, and tab itni khushi nahi hui, jitni aaj hai. This is my life’s best moment,” the actor-producer gets emotional. 

Khichdi and Sarabhai vs Sarabhai are each set around a family and their many interesting characters. According to Majethia, it’s the clean humour that has helped them survive the test of time.

He says, “We worked a lot on the script execution, and we used to have a lot of fights over it, too. We just worked on excellence, and thought ‘paisa toh aa jaayega’. That was my attitude since the time I started doing theatre in college. We never thought ‘oh, we just need to put out a show for tomorrow, then there’s day after too’, but rather that they should have shelf life. The result is that even after 18 years, the excitement remains intact among the audience.”

In fact, he recounts that with Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, “we didn’t earn any money as producers”. “We lost more than what we earned. We thought then ‘at least it’s running well, maybe later we will earn’, but it didn’t even air for long. I would always keep thinking ‘why did we do this show?’, but this wealth I have earned, of goodwill, is much more than the crores one can earn,” he concludes.

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