Vinod Nagpal fondly remembers Hum Log, says that era has ended
"Wo likhne wala mar gaya"... says Vinod Nagpal about Manohar Shyam Joshi, the famed writer of India's favourite television series Hum Log. Hum Log is probably one of the most popular television serials ever.
"Wo likhne wala mar gaya"... says Vinod Nagpal about Manohar Shyam Joshi, the famed writer of India's favourite television series Hum Log. Hum Log is probably one of the most popular television serials ever.
Vinod Nagpal played the alcoholic father Basesar Ram with a sarcastic sense of humour in the 1984 Doordarshan soap. He said: "That era has ended, new genre has taken over. Hopefully this will also die and something else will replace this. For people like us it is 30unbearable, I get put off by seeing just the makeup on television these days. We have good television, it is high time Doordarshan should start spending more and make good stuff so they have a say as to what to show and what not to show."
"I prefer the radio."
He rues the nose-dive that soaps have taken in recent years. Talking about the quality of television series, he said: "In Delhi we produced gems like Bhanwar."
Most of us could identify with the characters of the show, so unlike those in the saas-bahu soaps today. "In Humlog, the script would be 25-30 pages, no time was wasted in titles, unlike today's serials."
He has immense respect for the writer of the show. Talking about him, he quipped: "Manohar Shyam Joshi was a writer with brains. He had he had a terrific memory, he would remember what he wrote in each episode. Not only Humlog, he wrote Buniyaad, Kakka Ji Kahin, Mungerilal Ke Hasin Sapne. After his 2-3 proposals were rejected by Doordarshan, he went to cinema but was disappointed. So, he went to live with his son in the US. He died in Baltimore, US."
Tell us about your upcoming project?
I have done roles in Khosla Ka Ghosla, Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khurana and recently I shot for White Lies.
What most people don't know about Vinod Nagpal is that he is a trained classical musician and can spend his whole day listening to classical music.
Today, 30 years after it was first aired, we celebrate Hum Log all over again. Here's a trivia: Maggi 2 Minute noodles became the first official sponsor of Humlog - a successful public-private enterprise on Doordarshan that time.
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