80 - 90s Indian TV Serials
by koustubh-25100 | created - 16 Jun 2022 | updated - 16 Jun 2022 | PublicA list of Indian TV Serials
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1. Mahabharat (1988–1990)
TV-14 | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When a dynastic struggle between the collateral branches of the Kuru clan, the Kauravas and Pandavas lead them to the threshold of war, Lord Krishna decides to step in and take control of the situation.
Stars: Harish Bhimani, Nitish Bharadwaj, Mukesh Khanna, Gajendra Chauhan
Votes: 23,312
This epic show of B.R. Chopra was very popular among audience. Brilliant casting, brilliant writing, brilliant music and brilliant direction. War sequences were incredible. This show was ahed of its time.
2. Malgudi Days (1986–2006)
Drama
Based on the works of R.K. Narayan, Malgudi Days chronicles the lives of people living in the fictitious town of Malgudi.
Stars: Venki, Anant Nag, Sudheendra, Rajaram
Votes: 4,213
Based on the works of R.K. Narayan this show is a timeless classic.
3. Ramayan (1987–1988)
TV-14 | 30 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
An adaptation of the ancient epic in which the exiled Prince Rama and his brother Laxman set out to save Rama's wife, Sita, who has been kidnapped by the demon king of Lanka Ravana.
Stars: Arun Govil, Deepika Chikhalia, Sunil Lahri, Arvind Trivedi
Votes: 23,917
Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan is a pure gold of Indian television. Based on Sanskrit epic of same name this show was created and break many records.
4. Chanakya (1990– )
45 min | Drama, History
This is a historical saga of establishing the Mauryan Empire in India
Stars: Chandra Prakash Dwivedi, Kurush Deboo, Dinesh Shakul, Prakash Dwivedi
Votes: 2,787
Chanakya is probably the most well-researched Indian historical television series till date. Brilliantly written, directed and acted by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi.
5. Bharat Ek Khoj (1988– )
History
The 5000-year history of India from its beginnings to independence in 1947.
Stars: Roshan Seth, Om Puri, Ravi Jhankal, Anang Desai
Votes: 867
This is literally journey of India in 53 episodes. The show is based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book "Discovery of India". This is must watch show for all Indians.
6. Byomkesh Bakshi (1993–1997)
40 min | Adventure, Crime, Mystery
An intelligent detective from Kolkata solves, without any weapons, many mysteries that remain unsolved by police.
Stars: Rajit Kapoor, K.K. Raina, Kartik Dutta, Sukanya Kulkarni
Votes: 3,173
Most popular detective series of 90s.
7. Mirza Ghalib (1988– )
27 min | Short, Biography, Drama
The story of the most admired poet in the History of Urdu and Persian writings, Mirza Ghalib.
Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Tanvi Azmi, Neena Gupta, Amjad Khan
Votes: 668
Mirza Ghalib is an Indian Historical short tv series written and produced by Gulzar sahab. Mirza Ghalib's role was brilliantly portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah.
8. Flop Show (1989– )
Comedy
Jaspal Bhatti's satirical take on the common societal problems in India.
Stars: Jaspal Bhatti, Vivek Shauq, Savita Bhatti, Ravi Sharma
Votes: 1,918
This was a brilliant satirical comedy show made by Jaspal Bhatti. This Flop show is superhit among audiences.
9. Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993–1994)
23 min | Comedy
Three generations of the Diwan clan live as an extended family in an ancestral bungalow in the Mumbai suburbs. The serial takes the viewer through their various ups and downs as their ... See full summary »
Stars: Navin Nischol, Farida Jalal, Shekhar Suman, Bhavana Balsawar
Votes: 1,473
10. Shrimaan Shrimati (1994– )
22 min | Comedy
In this series based on the premise "love thy neighbour's wife," the main characters are Keshav Kulkarni and his wife Kokila, and their neighbours Prema Shalini and her husband Dilruba. ... See full summary »
Stars: Jatin Kanakia, Reema Lagoo, Archana Puran Singh, Rakesh Bedi
Votes: 1,820
One of the most iconic comedy series ever produced in Indian television. The show also had a sequel in 2005 and a reboot version in 2018 but both shows couldn't get the success of the original show.
11. Karamchand (1985– )
Comedy, Mystery
One of the first indian detective series. Karamchand and his assistant solve murder, robbery and other mysteries.
Stars: Pankaj Kapur, Sushmita Mukherjee, Archana Puran Singh
Votes: 165
Karamchand is an Indian detective TV series telecast in the 1980s. The title character was played brilliantly by actor Pankaj Kapur.
12. Fauji (1988)
Action, Drama
A Highly popular TV Series about a batch of trainees into a commando school, their training and eventual induction as soldiers.
Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Rakesh Sharma, Vikram Chopra, Vishwajeet Pradhan
Votes: 3,006
It was debut TV series of Bollywood's king khan Shahrukh.
13. Shaktimaan (1997–2005)
Not Rated | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Family
When darkness get strengthened to destroy the world, Suryanshis chose Shaktimaan in order to fight against the forces of evil.
Stars: Mukesh Khanna, Vaishnavi Mahant, Surendra Pal, Rajendra Gupta
Votes: 5,425
First Indian superhero show on Indian television.
14. Hum Paanch (1995–2006)
20 min | Comedy
Anand Mathur, a middle-class businessman living in Bombay, gets no end of trouble from his five wild, troublesome daughters.
Stars: Ashok Saraf, Shoma Anand, Priya Tendulkar, Vandana Pathak
Votes: 1,655
15. Buniyaad (1987–1988)
Drama
The series dealt with the struggle of a family during the partition of India in 1947 and its aftermath.
Stars: Alok Nath, Anita Kanwar, Kiran Juneja, Vijayendra Ghatge
Votes: 274
Great drama series made by Sholay fame director Ramesh Sippy. The story spans the life in India between 1916-1978.
16. C.I.D. (1998–2018)
TV-14 | 42 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of officers who work for the Crime Investigation Department of the police force seek the help of a professional forensic expert and solve various criminal cases.
Stars: Aditya Srivastav, Shivaji Satam, Dayanand Shetty, Dinesh Phadnis
Votes: 4,401
C.I.D. was a popular detective show. The show was aired on January 21, 1998, and it went off-air after 21 years on October 27, 2018.
17. Aarohan (1996–1997)
27 min | Drama
The story of the trials and tribulations endured by female cadets in their personal as well as professional lives as they undergo training at the Naval Academy.
Stars: Pallavi Joshi, Shefali Shah, Tarun Dhanrajgir, Girish Malik
Votes: 71
18. Shri Krishna (1993–1997)
55 min | Drama, Fantasy
When evil takes over the world, Lord Vishnu incarnates into the world as Shri Krishna for the protection of the righteous and the destruction of the wicked.
Stars: Sarvadaman Banerjee, Swapnil Joshi, Sandeep Mohan, Mahendra Ghule
Votes: 2,082
Great mythological show by Ramanand Sagar based on the life of Lord Krishna.
19. Hum Log (1984–1985)
50 min | Family
The story of a lower middle class family and the struggles they face in their day to day lives.
Stars: Ashok Kumar, Sushma Seth, Divya Seth Shah, Loveleen Mishra
Votes: 175
20. Tu Tu Main Main (1994–2000)
Comedy
A hilarious comedy featuring a dominant mother-in-law and her equally boisterous daughter-in-law.
Stars: Reema Lagoo, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Mahesh Thakur, Kuldeep Pawar
Votes: 1,573
21. Alif Laila (1993–2020)
22 min | Adventure, Fantasy
Shahrzad narrates stories from the Arabian Nights, a collection of folk tales that brims with great morals, fascinating characters, flying carpets, magic lamps and fairies.
Stars: Firoz Ali, Girija Shankar, Damini Kanwal Shetty, Shahnawaz Pradhan
Votes: 663
22. Chandrakanta (1994– )
Fantasy
Chandrakanta is a television series about the undying love set against the brawl and rivalry between the Naugarh and Vijaygarh Kingdoms.
Stars: Shikha Swaroop, Shahbaaz Khan, Mukesh Khanna, Javed Khan
Votes: 741
23. Wagle Ki Duniya (1988–1990)
Comedy
Wagle Ki Duniya (literally: 'Wagle's World') was a popular comedy sitcom on Indian television, aired for the first time in 1988 to 1990 on state-run Doordarshan channel. It was directed by ... See full summary »
Stars: Anjan Srivastav, Bharti Achrekar, Jeetendra Dasadiya, Dicky Nagpal
Votes: 1,392
24. Katha Sagar (1986– )
Drama
The series featured a collection of stories by short story writers such as Guy De Maupassant, Tolstoy, O. Henry, Chekov etc. The series had different stories in each episode and most of the stories in the series were one-episode long.
Stars: Beena Banerjee, Ajit Vachani, Saeed Jaffrey, Shashi Puri
Votes: 66
The series was directed by Shyam Benegal. The series featured a collection of stories by short story writers such as Guy De Maupassant, Rabindranath Tagore, Leo Tolstoy, O. Henry, Anton Chekov etc.
25. Saans (1999– )
Comedy, Drama, Family
Priya and Gautam are a happily married couple with two kids, Akul and Mithi. Everything goes wrong when Priya and Gautam become friends with Manisha. Manisha has fallen in love with Gautam.... See full summary »
Stars: Neena Gupta, Kanwaljeet Singh, Kavita Kapoor, Shagufta Ali
Votes: 51
26. Vikram Aur Betaal (1985–1986)
Fantasy
Based on India mythological collection of 25 stories known as Baital Pachisi. It revolves around the Kind Vikram who is tasked to capture a Betaal, a celestial spirit analogus to Vampire. ... See full summary »
Stars: Arun Govil, Sajjan, Mulraj Rajda, Vijay Arora
Votes: 1,077
27. Captain Vyom (1998–1999)
24 min | Action, Sci-Fi
A superhero Captain Vyom is given a team of some exceptionally-powered soldiers to fight 12 great villains of all-time who escaped the prison located on a moon of Jupiter.
Stars: Kartika Rane, Milind Soman, Shehzaad Saeed, Rahul Bose
Votes: 445
28. Aahat (II) (1995–2015)
55 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A horror anthology series revolving around different ghost stories.
Stars: Vijay Raj, Shahab Khan, Gautam Rode, Paras Singh Minhas
Votes: 1,019
29. Surabhi (1993– )
Documentary
Surabhi was a popular Indian cultural magazine show hosted by Renuka Shahane and Siddharth Kak. It mainly focused on the Indian culture of the 90s. The Indian culture was presented to the ... See full summary »
Stars: Renuka Shahane, Siddharth Kak
Votes: 235
30. Just Mohabbat (1996– )
22 min | Drama, Family, Romance
The story revolves around the life of Jai, a kid who stays in a hostel in Dehradun away from his parents Raj and Maya. The series chronicles his growing up years and focuses on his ... See full summary »
Stars: Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Lunia, Kavita Kapoor, Ashok Lokhande
Votes: 218
31. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (1995– )
Musical, Reality-TV
Indian music reality show.
Stars: Shaan, Aditya Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal, Himesh Reshammiya
Votes: 165
32. Nukkad (1986– )
Comedy, Drama
Kundan Shah's Nukkad dealt with the struggles of the lower income labor class in cities.
Stars: Sangeeta Naik, Dilip Dhawan, Pawan Malhotra, Avtar Gill
Votes: 261
33. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (1984– )
Comedy
A sitcom about a couple, a brother-in-law, and the trouble they get into.
Stars: Rakesh Bedi, Satish Shah, Swaroop Sampat, Shafi Inamdar
Votes: 372
34. Akbar the Great
History
Akbar the great is a story of Akbar and his ancestors on how he and his ancestors ruled India. It gives a brief history about Babar and Humayun and full details about Akbar ,his personal life and his administration.
Stars: Puja Acharya, Arvind Bahmi, Vikrant Chaturvedi, Akbar Khan
35. Dada Dadi Ki Kahaniyan (1986–1987)
Adventure
Stars: Anu Dhawan, Ashok Kumar, Mulraj Rajda, Randhir Singh
Votes: 13
37. Gul Gulshan Gulfam (1987–1988)
Drama
Gul Gulshan Gulfaam portrayed a Kashmiri family making a living from their three houseboats: 'Gul' ('flower'), 'Gulshan' ('garden' or 'buckeye'), and 'Gulfam' ('gardener'). Their livelihood... See full summary »
Stars: Beena Banerjee, Pankaj Berry, Neena Gupta, Shammi Kapoor
Votes: 33
38. Stone Boy (1991– )
Fantasy
A boy who is cursed by fairies to transform into a stone, can become a human again once in 50 years but just for 3 days.
Stars: Parikshit Ambatkar, Dinesh Chand, Rajesh Chand, Neha Contractor
Votes: 120
39. Himalaya Darshan (1988– )
Drama
This was a TV serial featuring one short story about the people and their local traditions every week in the late 80 s in Door Darshan .Most of the stories will end with a suspense left to ... See full summary »
Stars: Neelima Azim, Joan David, Sanjana Kapoor, Rita Rani Kaul
Votes: 6
40. Honee Ahonee (1988– )
Mystery
Stars: Rahul Singh, Mangal Dhillon, Poornima Pathwardhan
Votes: 11
41. Hum Hindustani (1986– )
Stars: Ashok Kumar, Anant Mahadevan, Harish Patel, Ajit Vachani
Votes: 14
42. Banegi Apni Baat (1994–1998)
22 min | Drama
India's first teenage soap that dealt with teenage issues, from pimples to premarital sex . 'Banegi Apni Baat' also has the credit of being the longest running weekly fiction show on Indian television. 312 episodes and 6 years.
Stars: Firdaus Dadi, Irrfan Khan, Surekha Sikri, Masumeh Makhija
Votes: 51
43. Hello Friends (1999–2000)
18 min | Comedy
It is a comedy about a group of six lovable, humorous, fun-loving friends and their adventures and misadventures. Sanjana is a designer at a clothing factory. One thing that she can't stand is untidiness.
Stars: Mandira Bedi, Simone Singh, Aparna Tilak, Maria Goretti
Votes: 390
44. Itihaas (1996–1997)
Drama
princess Ambika is on search of truth leading to her husbands during this journey he faces lot many obstacles leading to far away from her close relations including her daughter. While her ... See full summary »
Stars: Joan David, Priya Tendulkar, Prabha Sinha, Smita Bansal
Votes: 22
45. Junoon (1994–1998)
30 min | Drama
Junoon is a television series aired on Doordarshan in 1993. Junoon ran for 5 years, setting a record for the then longest running program during prime time on Doordarshan. The basic plot involved rivalry between two big families.
Stars: Mangal Dhillon, Shashi Puri, Tom Alter, Archana Puran Singh
Votes: 35
46. Hudd Kar Di (1998–1999)
Comedy
The story is about a simple happy Indian family living in the city, when their parents come from their village to city. What follows, is a series of comical events happening every day.
Stars: Shilpa Tulaskar, Dara Singh Randhawa, Rita Bhaduri, Mahesh Thakur
Votes: 21
47. Katha Sagar (1986– )
Drama
The series featured a collection of stories by short story writers such as Guy De Maupassant, Tolstoy, O. Henry, Chekov etc. The series had different stories in each episode and most of the stories in the series were one-episode long.
Stars: Beena Banerjee, Ajit Vachani, Saeed Jaffrey, Shashi Puri
Votes: 66
48. Shanti (1994–1998)
Drama
A journalist, who is the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy and influential businessman, fights the system to expose the truth.
Stars: Rajesh Tailang, Mandira Bedi, Yatin Karyekar, Richa Ahuja Badami
Votes: 102
49. Tara (1993–1997)
30 min | Drama
Based on the trials & tribulations, the joys and sorrows of the life of main character, Tara.
Stars: Rakesh Bedi, Deven Bhojani, Raja Bundela, Harsh Chhaya
Votes: 48
50. Mr. Yogi (1989– )
Comedy
It is a story of an USA settled Indian boy trying to arrange his marriage in India.
Stars: Pallavi Joshi, Chandrakant Thakkar, Om Puri, Mohan Gokhale
Votes: 102
51. Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne (1990– )
Comedy
Leading a difficult life Mungerilal finds relief through his dreams where he settles scores with everyone and fulfills the secret desires of his heart.
Stars: Kamia Malhotra, Ruma Ghosh, Raghubir Yadav
Votes: 135
52. Naya Nukkad (1993–1994)
Comedy
Stars: Geeta Khanna, Pawan Malhotra, Javed Khan Amrohi, Shakti Singh
53. Neem Ka Ped (1991–1994)
Drama
A poor laborer Budhai (Pankaj Kapur) is caught between two warring feudal cousins in pre-independence India. Later, the story portrays post-independence India, where Budhai's politician son is doing well, but power corrupts.
Stars: Arun Bali, Pankaj Kapur, Ananya Khare, S.M. Zaheer
Votes: 33
54. Pachhpan Khambe Laal Deewarein (1993)
Drama
Sushma is single, independent and is sole bread winner of her family. She falls in love with a much younger man, Neel. Sushma has to make the tough choice of breaking off with her lover, but she remains graceful and certain of her choice.
Stars: Mita Vashisht, Aman Verma
Votes: 6
55. Param Veer Chakra (1988– )
Drama, War
Stars: Gufi Paintal, Sameer Rajda, Annu Kapoor, Shyamsundar Kalani
Votes: 80
56. Phir Wahi Talash (1989–1990)
Drama, Romance
A poor boy, studying to become a doctor, rents a garage in a rich man's house. He falls for the arrogant and strict man's reticent daughter. Relationships are strained, lovers are separated, will they unite?
Stars: Neelima Azim, B.L. Chopra, Rajesh Khattar, Ashwini Kumar
Votes: 28
57. Potli Baba Ki (1991)
Family, Fantasy
In this series various fairy tales are demonstrated through puppetry or puppet shows in simple language which gives children good moral messages.
Votes: 11
58. Phatichar (1991)
30 min | Comedy
Phatichar (poor, wearing tattered clothes) is an Indian TV series starring Pankaj Kapur. His character lived in a cement pipe and the show portrayed, in a bitter-sweet manner, the life of the disadvantaged living on the margins.
Stars: Annu Kapoor, Pankaj Kapur, Ajit Vachani, Rakesh Srivastava
Votes: 15
59. Rangoli (1989– )
Musical
This is a great show telecasted every Sunday at 8:00AM on DD National.This show is currently hosted by well known actress Swara Bhaskar.Earlier it has been hosted by many wonderful ... See full summary »
Stars: Mohit Sharma, Surveen Chawla, Hema Malini, Madhoo
Votes: 104
60. Raja Aur Rancho (1997– )
Comedy
Detective Raja And His Companion, Rancho, A Monkey, Take Up The Most Difficult Criminal Cases And Try To Unravel The Mysteries Behind Them.
Stars: Smita Gupta, Manoj Joshi, Rancho
Votes: 37
61. Space City Sigma (1989– )
Sci-Fi
Sigma, a space city (running on fusion energy) docked at a Galactic frontier, is the last stand of humans against an even more technologically superior alien race ruled by one ZhakhaKoo.
Stars: Kishore Dang, Mita Vashisht, Sanjeev Mehra, Shailendra Srivastav
Votes: 79
62. Sinhasan Battisi (1985– )
History
Stars: Vidya Sinha, Gajendra Chauhan, Birbal, Jayshree Gadkar
Votes: 10
63. Swabhimaan (1995– )
Crime, Drama, Mystery
'Swaabhimaan' is a sizzling saga of our supercharged times. Every afternoon viewers meet the most exciting people in town - Svetlana, Rishabh, Ranjana Devi, Devika, Mahen, Nishi and Ronnie.... See full summary »
Stars: Kitu Gidwani, Anju Mahendru, Rohit Roy, Harsh Chhaya
Votes: 173
64. Talaash (1992– )
Drama, Mystery
It is the story of quest to find his long lost friend and to know the reason and consequences why he disappeared.
Stars: Megha Chatterjee, Moushumi Chatterjee, Vijayendra Ghatge, Rajendra Gupta
Votes: 42
65. Tehkikaat (1994– )
Crime, Mystery
Two private detectives, Sam D'Silva and Gopichand, embark on different quests to solve various murder mysteries.
Stars: Vijay Anand, Saurabh Shukla, Firoz Ali, B Shantanu
Votes: 216
66. Tenali Rama (1990)
Biography, Comedy, History
The story is about Ramakrishna's journey from Tenali to Vijayanagara. Ramakrishna, better known as Tenali Rama, was an honored poet in the court of King Krishnadevaraya. He was famous for ... See full summary »
Stars: Vijay Kashyap, Sandhya Sudhakar, Anang Desai
Votes: 71
67. The Sword of Tipu Sultan (1990– )
Biography, Drama, History
The sword of Tipu Sultan is based on the novel of same name by Bhagwan S Gidwani. It chronicles the life stories of Hadar Ali and Tipu Sultan. The novel is regarded as being historically ... See full summary »
Stars: Malvika Tiwari, Shahbaaz Khan, Mukesh Rishi, Deepika Chikhalia
Votes: 271
68. The Great Maratha (1994– )
E10+ | Action, Biography, Drama
The Great Maratha is an Indian historical drama that follows the life of Mahadji Scindia (played by Shabaz Khan). The series aired on Doordarshan in early 1994. It was produced by Numero ... See full summary »
Stars: Irrfan Khan, Mrinal Kulkarni, Mukesh Khanna, Mangal Dhillon
Votes: 79
69. Thhoda Sa Aasman (1995– )
Drama
A realistically told story of three people in different stages of their lives, going through their own ups and downs.
Stars: Moon Moon Sen, Kalpana Iyer, Benjamin Gilani, Nimmi Kumar
Votes: 6
70. Udaan (1989– )
Drama
Journey of a girl, Kalyani, from a teenager to an upright Indian police officer.
Stars: Vikram Gokhale, Sooraj Thapar, Uttara Baokar, Kavita Chaudhary
Votes: 26
71. Zamana Badal Gaya (1995)
Comedy
This is the story that briefs the generation gap and the standard of life. People want some change to take place, but they are not ready to accept when it happens in their home. This show depicts the double standard life of the people.
Stars: Gaurav Desai, Vishal Saheta, Tiku Talsania, Aruna Irani
Votes: 14
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