Mumbai, Feb 12 Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur took a trip down memory lane as he recalled the immense popularity of the iconic television series “Udaan,” saying the country needs value-driven content like that again.
Shekhar took to X, formerly called Twitter, where he shared a still from the TV Udaan, which had its final episode air in 1991. He recalled how “Udaan” became a big phenomenon at a time when television had only one channel.
“A still from the series UDAAN. It came at a time when the only channel was Doordarshan. It became a rage. I couldn’t go anywhere without being mobbed. In small towns and villages I was known as ‘Collector Sahib’ because that was the character I played .. such was the power of TV then.”
The filmmaker revealed that the show had a deep social impact, particularly on women who were inspired to pursue careers in civil services.
Not just that, the number of women I meet holding such important responsibilities in the IAS , Foreign Service, and IPS .. that were inspired by the series to study for and take those positions still amazes me ..
Calling for a return to meaningful storytelling, the filmmaker added: That was the power of TV then .. a TV with values, the kind of TV we need now in Bharat .. we need to find that again.”
“Udaan” was created and directed by Kavita Chowdhry and was based on the real-life story of her sister, Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya, who went on to become India’s first woman Director General of Police.
“The series was created and directed by Kavita Chowdhry , and was based on the story of her sister, Kanchan Choudhary Bhattacharya .. who became India’s first woman Director General of Police.”
“Udaan” followed the story of Kalyani Singh's father, who urges her to work towards gaining a respectable position in the society, she battles gender discrimination and various other problems to become a police officer.
He also spoke about an incident from the time he was shooting for “Bandit Queen” in a village in Uttar Pradesh.
He added: I was filming in a village in UP for Bandit Queen. Thousands of people turned up and I was surprised why .. and they said ‘Hum Collector Sahib ko dekhney aye hain’ Such was the massive popularity of the series.”
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