Though there were many classic shows in the early days of Doordarshan like Hum Log, Shrikant, Malgudi Days, my own Wagle Ki Duniya, Buniyaad tops my list of favourite shows.
Ramesh Sippy’s series is undoubtedly the Sholay of Indian television in terms of the strength of its narrative technique, gripping storyline, innumerable drama moments, and the sheer number of actors it unleashed on the TV and film industry. Not many remember that even I had a small role in the serial as Lala Haveli Ram’s friend in his old days towards the end of the series.

Not only Buniyaad’s lead characters Lala Haveli Ram or Masterji (Alok Nath) and his wife Lajwanti (Anita Kanwar), even bit characters like his father Sudhir Pandey’s Lala Gendamal act or the villainous Shyamlal are remembered till date by their character names. So many actors got a career boost post Buniyaad—Alok Nath, Kanwaljeet Singh, Girija Shankar, Vijayendra Ghatge, Mazhar Khan, Sony Razdan, Kiran Juneja, Dalip Tahil—because every character was well -written with its fair share of drama moments and a definite character growth. The narrative sweep it managed in a span of just one year and 104 episodes can’t be matched by today’s daily soaps spanning years, Manohar Shyam Joshi had written it in the mould of great period pieces and classic novels. Starting from pre and post partition the serial authentically documented the partition pangs felt by ordinary citizens

It told stories of uprooted families in Delhi from 1947 continuing up to contemporary times—thus giving a sense of history as well as lessons for the society through a family’s survival story. For instance, Alok Nath’s character Haveli Ram belongs to the business community and is a follower of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals and along with his wife leads a life dedicated to Gandhian principles in spite of the many financial lures and emotional challenges courtesy some of his ambitious progeny.
Manohar Shyam Joshi’s writing wasn’t a copy of MS Sathyu’s Garam Hawa, yet its authenticity and connectivity was no less than the critically acclaimed Balraj Sahni film.