Hum Log back in new avatar

Hum Log, Indian television’s first soap opera has reinvented itself to suit the current social scenario and is set to go on air with a fresh storyline, cast and name — Hum.

The best tales are timeless. But even better are those that evolve with the times.

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Hum Log

, Indian television’s first soap opera, for instance, has reinvented itself to suit the current social scenario and is set to go on air with a fresh storyline, cast and name —

Hum

.

“

Hum

is not another

Hum Log

, but treads the same path - one that shows what middle-class life is all about,” said actor Sushma Seth, who essayed the role of Dadi in the earlier series and will be playing narrator in the new one. The cast and crew discussed the new show vis-a-vis its inspiration, in great detail at a studio discussion conducted by host channel Doordarshan, recently. Actress Sadia Siddiqui, who also features in Hum, said: “I have grown up watching Hum Log, and hope we can set a similar example.”

While the members on the panel stressed that

Hum Log

had no competition when it was first aired back in 1984, and that the serial, in its new avatar, would require massive marketing to make it big in the saas-bahu soap era, the team assured that a strong storyline would sustain the series successfully.

“The philosophy and family values of the middle class still remain the same beneath that facade,” said Jayshri Arora, who played Bhagwanti in the legendary series. Hum Log is remembered for its adorable characters like Chutki, Basesar Ram, Nanhe, Dada and Dadiji, and Laloo.

Hum, featuring actors Suhasini Muley, Mona Vasu, and Vineet Kumar, is about five women who belong to different fields and different families. All five of them work together to improve their village Sitamarhi, in Bihar. The show hits television on August 15.