Childhood TV Shows: 15 Must-Watch 90s Comedy Shows to Relive

The best childhood TV shows from the 90s for comedy are Flop Show, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhalke, Hum Paanch, Shrimaan Shrimati, Tu Tu Main Main and Yes Boss. These Doordarshan and satellite TV sitcoms ran on clean, situational humour and are still the first names Indians recall when they talk about 90s comedy shows.

Before OTT and reels, Indian families watched comedy together in the living room. The jokes came from situations and characters, not from shock value. That is why these shows still work when you rewatch them, and why some were brought back on Doordarshan during the 2020 lockdown.

Quick facts: 90s comedy shows at a glance

15 must-watch 90s comedy shows

1. Flop Show (1989)

Jaspal Bhatti wrote, directed and starred in this DD National satire, playing himself as “Bhattiji”. It had only 10 episodes, but each one used satire to expose a social or political problem. It technically premiered in October 1989, yet it was repeated so often in the 90s that it belongs on this list. Doordarshan reran it from May 2020.

2. Hum Paanch (1995 to 2006)

The middle-class Mathur family, headed by Anand Mathur, was one of the noisiest families on Indian TV. Kajal, Sweety and the rest teased each other non-stop, and that daily chaos was the joke. The show ran for over a decade, which says a lot about how much viewers loved it.

3. Family No. 1

Two single-parent families end up sharing one house, and the fights start on day one. If you enjoy the confusion comedy of Rohit Shetty’s Golmaal films, this show used a similar formula years earlier. The two families slowly come together by the end.

4. Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993 to 1994)

Produced by Jaya Bachchan and directed by Anand Mahendroo, this DD Metro sitcom followed the large Diwan family living under one roof. The cast included Shekhar Suman, Navin Nischol, Farida Jalal, Sushma Seth and Deven Bhojani. It remains the benchmark for joint-family comedy on Indian TV.

5. Zabaan Sambhalke (1993 to 1994, 1997 to 1998)

A Hindi version of the 1977 British sitcom Mind Your Language. Pankaj Kapur plays Mohan Bharti, the teacher of an adult Hindi class full of foreigners and Indians from different states. Tom Alter, Shubha Khote and Tanaaz Irani were part of the class, and every lesson turned into a mess of wrong words and misunderstandings.

6. Shrimaan Shrimati (1994 to 1997)

Jatin Kanakia plays Keshav Kulkarni, Reema Lagoo is his wife Kokila, Archana Puran Singh is film actress Prema Shalini next door and Rakesh Bedi is her husband Dilruba. Keshav’s crush on the neighbour drives the comedy, long before Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain used the same idea. A sequel, Shrimaan Shrimati Phir Se, came on Sony SAB in 2018, and DD reran the original in April 2020.

7. Yes Boss (1999 to 2009)

Aasif Sheikh plays Vinod Verma, boss of an ad agency who keeps flirting with his creative director Meera. Rakesh Bedi plays Meera’s husband Mohan, who works under Vinod and can do nothing about it. It ran for 631 episodes on SAB TV and was known for its one-liners.

8. Tu Tu Main Main (1994 to 2000)

Directed by Sachin Pilgaonkar, this saas-bahu comedy starred Reema Lagoo as mother-in-law Devki and Supriya Pilgaonkar as daughter-in-law Radha. Their “khatti-meethi” fights, with Mahesh Thakur as Ravi stuck in the middle, made it a hit first on DD Metro and then on StarPlus.

9. Hudd Kar Di

Parents move from a village to the city, and every small cultural clash becomes a comic scene. Dara Singh stood out with his comic timing.

10. Shrimati Sharma Na Kehti Thi

This Star Plus show mixed music and comedy with an unusual format. Only one character appeared on screen, while the others were heard only as voices. That alone made it different from everything else on TV at the time.

11. Dam Dama Dam

Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, the same play that inspired the Hindi film Angoor. Shekhar Suman and Laxmikant Berde played double roles, and the mix-ups multiplied as the show went on.

12. Filmi Chakkar

Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah played a couple obsessed with Bollywood. Episodes borrowed famous film scenes and turned them into family comedy.

13. Philips Top 10

Not a sitcom but a countdown show of the season’s top songs, with comedy segments built around them. Pankaj Kapur and Satish Kaushik brought the humour.

Two early 2000s shows that carry the 90s spirit

The original version of this list included two shows that actually premiered in 2001. They are not 90s shows, but they were made by the same generation of TV writers and actors, so we have kept them as bonus picks.

14. Office Office (2001)

Pankaj Kapur plays Musaddilal, a common man stuck in an endless loop of corrupt government offices. Manoj Pahwa, Deven Bhojani, Sanjay Mishra and Asawari Joshi played the clerks. It premiered on SAB TV on 3 September 2001, and a film, Chala Mussaddi… Office Office, followed in 2011.

15. Ji Mantriji (2001)

The Hindi adaptation of the British satire Yes Minister, made with the BBC’s permission. Farooq Sheikh played minister Surya Prakash Singh and Jayant Kripalani played his secretary Rajnath Mathur. It ran for one season of 38 episodes on StarPlus.

For more nostalgia and TV lists, browse our series section and listicles.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Wikipedia: Dekh Bhai Dekh, Wikipedia: Shrimaan Shrimati, Wikipedia: Zabaan Sambhalke, Wikipedia: Office Office.