Shararat & Sisterhood: How Indian Sitcom Set Benchmark Around Women's Bonds

Being the 90s kid, magic was a fascinating thing for me. I loved attending magic shows, watching TV shows based on magic and more. I used to imagine and try to decode the tricks that magicians used. I was so fascinated that I myself wanted to perform magic and change things around me. And TV shows about magic, (magic shows were not so often in my town) made me think that maybe I too have a secret power. One sitcom that always remains in my heart when it comes to love for magic is Shararat: Thoda Jaadu Thodi Nazakat. I literally recited those mantras- Shring Bring Sharvling Bhoot Bhavishya Vartaman Badling- and expected things to change around me.

Released in the year 2003, Shararat was my favourite sitcom. I loved the characters- Nani, Radha and Jia so much that I wanted to meet them in reality. Even today when I see Farida Jalal or Shruti Seth, I feel they still have those magical powers and can do anything they want. The plot of the sitcom revolved around a family in which women were blessed with magical powers because of the good deeds of Rani ma, their great-great grandmother. This was the first beautiful thing about the sitcom- that women were the leads and had special powers. It was as if women were queens and in charge of whatever happened in the family and their lives. In the era of Superman, Shaktiman and Spiderman, having Nani as an expert in using magic to change things was unique. I never found myself interested in male-centric superpower sitcoms. And so Shararat was more close to me than any other show.

Moreover, because women were magicians, I was able to identify with them. I felt that if women in the serial had superpowers then I too might have some hidden powers in me. And I saw this turning into truth when I realised my interest in writing and my ability to convince people through it. In fact, the sitcom made me realise that every person has some hidden power in them that they need to realise and apply wisely to gain success in life.

Shararat Gave Me Sisterhood Goals

Moreover, I liked the sisterhood that was followed through generations. Rani Ma always guided and supported Nani who passed on the wisdom to her daughter and granddaughter. The bond between the three generations of women fascinated me because it was not as bad as the reality. In Shararat, Radha and Jia were always supported by Nani as a mentor and a friend. Jia gained support from her grandmother and mother in solving her love life and achieving her aims. But when we see the reality, we rarely find any such friendship among &t=5s">mothers, grandmothers and daughters. Usually, the mothers and grandmothers are carriers of patriarchal restrictions that they impose on the daughters’ lives. They don’t teach them to follow their dreams, let alone follow their dream man. I loved how Nani and Jiya’s mother supported her relationship with Dhruv, sometimes even helping her with her dates, rather than reprimanding her for being unsanskari by thinking about or talking to boys before marriage. This was mainly because my parents too were against me having any connections with boys. My mother used to cry and blame me when a certain boy who had a crush on me called on my mother’s phone.

Shararat had its bad traits too. Like women were not allowed by their husbands to use magic while doing the house chores. Even though women of the family had magical powers, there were areas in which men had the say. But I feel when we judge certain shows, we need to do so by considering the mindset of the society at that time. When the sitcom was released, rarely were women allowed to pursue their love and passions which were metaphorically represented as magic in the sitcom. Women rarely had a say in how things happened in the house. Men got to decide and rule over everything in the house. Most importantly, women in Shararat had the freedom to do shararat which was completely opposite to how women in real life were supposed to be. They were not even allowed to laugh openly, let alone do any mischief. In such a scenario, having a sitcom with female leads was a defiant act in itself as it instilled in us the idea that change can happen. It gave women the power to change things in their life by flicking a finger.

The views expressed are the author's own.