8 Shows That Were Wayy AHEAD of Their Time!!

They saw the future..

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Okay fine it's 2019 and there are gazillions of controversies and issues which have piled up over the years. Breaking the stereotype is a norm which everyone is following now-a -days. But it is not just now, there are some shows that saw the future and were based on the concepts which are very much evident in today's time. Lets take a look at the shows that were way ahead of its time!
  • Alpviram- Sony TV

    Cast: Pallavi Joshi, Aamir Bashir

    Alpviram broad casted in 1998! The story revolved around a 21 year old girl, Amrita, who due to some medical repercussions goes into coma for a very long time. The story does not end there, while she was in coma Amrita gets pregnant. Her family and her fiance gets the shock of their lives when they find out that she was raped while she was in coma! Its a story of a girl who gets raped when her body was in no state of consciousness and in total state of vulnerability. The show did an absolutely amazing job in showing the issue so sensitively instead of highlighting the victim as torn. This is the biggest issue India is facing in the years.


  • Tara - Zee TV

    Cast: Navneet Nishan, Rakesh Bedi, Alok Nath.

    Tara premiered in 1993 and was the first ever Indian soap opera which focused on the life of contemporary urban women. It was long running show which revolved around the life of a young, confident yet ruthless, educated and modern working woman Tara. The show even primarily showed her friends Kanchan, Arzoo and Sheena and their issues.During that time it was a huge thing for people to digest the fact that girls can be this career oriented and impulsive instead of being feminine, and acting like a barbie.


  • Aap ki Antara- Zee TV

    Cast: Zaynah Vastani, Aaina Mehta, Anjum Farooqi

    Aap ki Antara was airing in 2009 and the show focused on the concept of autism. Antara the protagonist was a child who was born out of wed lock. Her father accepted her and later realized that she behaved in a very strange way. Later they know that she was suffering from autism. Autism is a very sensitive issue where the person cannot express emotions and needs to be handled with love and care. The time is very crucial now, but before they did not know more about mental illness and the makers showed it in a very sensitive way.


  • Kuchh Love Kuchh Masti- Sahara One

    Cast: Madhuri Bhattacharya, Sonika Anand, Sunaina Gulia.

    Kuchh Love Kuchh Masti was not a dark show at all like others. It was a very entertaining concept brought up by some really talented makers. The story revolved around the lives of 3 young, beautiful women, Vartika, Neena and Pooja who shared their problems, or we can say their love lives. They were very modern and strong. Vartika was infatuated by a married man, Pooja was confused between two guys and Neena fell in love with a very older guy. Their problems and talks were such that the audience could not take it. The girls were open about sex which the audience is still not comfortable talking about.


  • Hasratein- Zee TV

    Cast: Sana Amin Sheikh, Shefali Shah.

    Hasratein was telecasted in the mid 90's. The show had the concept of extra marital affairs. Here, Savi leaves her husband and falls in love with a married man and they start dating. Both their spouses knew about them dating somebody. The story went with how helpless people get when they get married in spite of not having spark in their relationship. They have to play their respective roles of husband, wife and parents and sometimes love fades away. There was no concept of divorce and people were not very much willing about it. The show was really way ahead of its time because the audience were in complete shock to watch someone carry out an extra marital affair. Later many shows were made with similar concepts.


  • Ek Ladki Anjaani Si- Sony TV

    Cast: Kanchi Kaul, Shakti Anand, Cezanne Khan.

    Ek Ladki Anjaani Si was premiered in 2005 and had a very intriguing story line. The story started with Anu, who ambitioned to be a journalist but has the biggest fall down in her life when she is mistakenly impregnated by artificial insemination. Her family and she herself gets the worst shock of their lives. Then the trauma she faces due to her pregnancy is the story worth admiring. Even today the society is not very much open about women who bear children out of wed lock. Also women who are not able to bear children are neglected and concepts like adoptions are not considered much of an option. The story got mixed reviews but the makers really brought something that was very difficult to look up to, but they pulled off really well with the love story between Anu and her boss popping up in between which lightened the content.


  • Shanti: Ek Aurat Ki Kahani- Star Plus

    Cast:Mandira Bedi, Anup Soni, Amit Behl.

    Shanti was out in 1994 and was a really mysterious drama. The show started with Shanti, an aspiring journalist who comes into the house of Kamlesh and Rajesh to write their autobiographies, as they were really big producers. When she gets deeper into the lives to the rich men, she got to know that they did not have a very pretty background and none of the family members were into their good phase. They were all showing up. The show gave the biggest climax of the times. Later it was reveled that Shanti was daughter to one of the man as her mother who was a laborer for the rich men and was raped by the two of them. The audience took time to digest this story as it was very disturbing. The story showed having illegitimate child, womanizing, objectification and a lot more which was too much for the audience.


  • Saans- Star Plus

    Cast: Neena Gupta,Kanwaljit Singh.

    Saans came in 1998. The show was a massive hit back then as the story was very intriguing. It revolved around Priya, who was a very ideal wife and a caring mother to her two children. The show got the twist when her husband Gautam falls in love with a very modern woman and has an extra marital affair. He eventually leaves her when she decides to stay on her own. Then the story goes by her getting a job and raising her kids alone. She manages the household and the cruel world. The hardships she faced were very much ignored back then. The show acted as a ray of light for all the single mothers out there to be strong and carry on with their lives.


  • Astitva..Ek Prem Kahani- Zee TV

    Cast: Niki Aneja Walia, Varun Badola.

    Astitva was aired in 2002. The show came up with a concept of women marrying men who are 10 years younger to them. It showed Dr. Simran who falls in love with Abhimanyu who is 10 years younger to her. It showed a women's identity who is always supposed to have patience and be suppressed. During that time it was a topic which was always dug under the sand and frowned upon the society.The hypocrite society never accepted such things and thought about it as a taboo. But the show changed the mindset of the audience and the goal was hence achieved. It broke all the stereotypes.


  • Maryada.. Lekin Kab Tak- Star Plus

    Cast: Raqesh Vashisth Bapat, Riddhi Dogra

    Maryada got aired in 2010. The show was very much women centric and the struggles they face because of men in their lives. It goes from being in an abusive relationship, to having an extra marital affair, to being objectified and suppressed. It even had a pinch of corruption. The show brought out all the problems of women and the way they were judged in the society. It was an eye opener for a lot of people.


Having goosebumps already? These shows were a massive hit back then and were really way ahead of its time. Its like the makers had predicted the future.

Did the makers really see the future? What do you think about the shows? Let us know in the comments below..

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Cezzane Khan Thumbnail

Cezzane Khan

Mandira Bedi Thumbnail

Mandira Bedi

Navneet Nishan Thumbnail

Navneet Nishan

Neena Gupta Thumbnail

Neena Gupta

Niki Aneja Walia Thumbnail

Niki Aneja Walia

Pallavi Joshi Thumbnail

Pallavi Joshi

Raqesh Bapat Thumbnail

Raqesh Bapat

Rakesh Bedi Thumbnail

Rakesh Bedi

Kanwaljit Singh Thumbnail

Kanwaljit Singh

Alok Nath Thumbnail

Alok Nath

Shefali Shah Thumbnail

Shefali Shah

Aamir Bashir Thumbnail

Aamir Bashir

Amit Behl Thumbnail

Amit Behl

Anup Soni Thumbnail

Anup Soni

Varun Badola Thumbnail

Varun Badola

Shakti Anand Thumbnail

Shakti Anand

Kanchi Kaul Thumbnail

Kanchi Kaul

Sunaina Gulia Thumbnail

Sunaina Gulia

Zaynah Vastani Thumbnail

Zaynah Vastani

Aaina Mehta Thumbnail

Aaina Mehta

Sana Amin Sheikh Thumbnail

Sana Amin Sheikh

Anjum Farooqi Thumbnail

Anjum Farooqi

Ek Ladki Anjaani Si poster

Ek Ladki Anjaani Si

Astitva Ek Prem Kahani poster

Astitva Ek Prem Kahani

Aap Ki Antara poster

Aap Ki Antara

Maryaada Lekin Kab Tak? poster

Maryaada Lekin Kab Tak?

Star Plus thumbnail

Star Plus

Sony TV thumbnail

Sony TV

Zee TV thumbnail

Zee TV

Sahara One thumbnail

Sahara One

Comments (7)

We had these types of shows here!!! I never knew haven't watched any of these the first one mentioned was a real shock... Nowadays we only have nagin, chudail and ott makeup

5 years ago

Yaa maker ne bahot hi acche dramas banaye the jo uss time ke liye bold the... But unfortunately abhi ke progressive time me Sare regressive dramas bana rahe hai. . Jo Sare dramas mention hui hai vo iss time me dikhane chahiye but abhi to sirf vahi saas bahu drama and regressive love story hi mil rahi hai... Television ko corrupt karne ka shrey jata hai ekta maa ko.. I hope abhi ke time me bhi itne acche dramas bante hote

5 years ago

Shanti was my inspiration!!!!

I wanted to be strong like her!!!!

5 years ago

Aap Ki Antara was one of the most underrated shows ever

5 years ago

Alpviram was path breaking
Maryada was the best and also the first show to showcase a gay love story on national TV

5 years ago

other than Kuch love Kuch masti, i have watched most of the shows mentioned above...and yes, it's a complete disappointment that most of the shows we have on ITV today are no match to these.

5 years ago

Except for Aap Ki Antara I never happen to watch any of the mentioned show (I wasn't even born when most of shows aired) but reading it all here, it feels like ITV was once really good and progressive. I don't know what happened to it in recent times

5 years ago

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