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"Lajoji (Anita Kanwar) ne khaya badaam, usme se nikla Haveliram (Alok Nath), Haveliram ne kholi almaari, usme se nikli Veerawaali (Kiran Juneja), Veerawaali ne khaya paan, usme se nikla Vrushbhaan (Vijayendra Ghatge)." The words of that short poem we used to recite as children rings in my ears again as I see the classic Buniyaad resurrected on television. Based on the theme of Partition and its repercussions, 18 years after it was first telecast, Buniyaad is back. On Sahara One. The mega-serial, produced and directed by Sholay helmer Ramesh Sippy, was first aired in 1986. After that, it has had a couple of reruns, but this time it has been given a high-profile relaunch.
As Buniyaad continues making history on television, we take a look at the people who had become a part of our lives for a very long time. What are they doing now, almost two decades later?
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Alok Nath - Master Haveliram "Buniyaad, in many ways, laid the foundation of my career," says Nath. "On the first day of shooting, we were all very nervous. We took about nine takes and still nothing was working. Later, we came to know that this was Sippyji's way to warm up," he adds. In the serial, Haveliram goes missing. While all others think that he is dead, his wife Lajoji refuses to believe so. The whole country was hysterical. And when he returned, we realised the power of television for the first time. "This is one thing I'll never forget [the mass reaction to Haveliram's return]. And it helped me realise the need for honesty in the character that an actor must portray," he adds. Nath was later seen in serials like Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, Tara, Imtihaan, and films like Maine Pyar Kiya, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun among others. He has mostly played a doting father. In real life, he insists he is not strict with his 16-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. "When I am not acting, I like to cook at home and spend time with my family. If I was not an actor, I would have been in the restaurant business," he says.
Nath is currently working in serials like Astitva - Ek Prem Kahani and Piya Ka Ghar.
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Anita Kanwar - Lajoji, Master Haveliram's wife "I enjoyed playing the character of Lajoji. Of the serials I worked in after Buniyaad, Inspector KC has been my favourite," says Kanwar. "I do not wish to be rude, but I do not want to talk to the media about anything more. Please respect my privacy," she adds. She was last seen in a detective serial, Saboot (1997-1999), later renamed Inspector KC.
Kanwar has since stopped working as an actress. She currently lives in Gurgaon, near Delhi.
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Dalip Tahil - Master Haveliram's elder son Post Buniyaad, Dalip Tahil was seen in over 100 Bollywood movies. His favourite performances have been in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Bombay Dreams in London's West End and the Indian adaptation of Webber's Evita. Tahil also owns a theatre company, Theatrix, and has a passion for singing. Currently, he is in London working on the hit soap EastEnders. He plays Dan Ferreira, the father of the Ferreira clan, who has moved to England and is raising four kids. He plays a proud man with a touch of pomposity.
And he just happens to love dressing up as Elvis Presley!
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Soni Rajdan - Sulochana, Master Haveliram's elder daughter-in-law "I played the role of Sulochana, or Lochan, as she is fondly called. She was this spicy, lovely girl married to Haveliram's elder son. Shooting those days was very hectic, and we worked about 12 to 15 hours everyday, without any days off!" says Rajdan, who is married to filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Her favourite performances include Such A Long Journey, 36 Chowringee Lane, Mandi, Trikaal, Saaransh, Khamosh, Kaal Chakra, Monsoon Wedding, and Page 3. She is currently working on television projects with her own production house, Mass Productions. Aur Phir Ek Din was her first television production, and the film Nazar last year marked her directorial debut. She is planning another film soon, and is in talks with a channel to produce and direct a television series for them.
She has just finished shooting for the serial Kohinoor and stars with Kabir Bedi in an upcoming English film called Take 3 Girls.
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Kanwaljeet Singh - Satbir "My role as Satbir, Vrushbhaan's illegitimate child in Buniyaad, gave me instant recognition, after which I went on to do serials like Saans, Family No. 1, Dard and Siski," says Singh. "Rameshji [Sippy] was looking out for someone to play Roshan, later played by Mazhar Khan. Rameshji wanted me to do that role, but I wanted to play Satbir since I saw more potential in it. But he said that I needed to look younger for it. So I took a break for a month, and lost 10 kilos. That's how I bagged the role," he adds. "We were in a miniscule world of our own on the sets of Buniyaad. From morning till night, we would be shooting and our lives would revolve around that show. So many memories... I have moved on since then, but it will be unfair to narrate just a few incidents," he continues. "It was a complete learning experience and I guess all the actors who started with Buniyaad would feel the same." Most recently, Singh was seen in Aparna Sen's 15 Park Avenue. Married to actress Anuradha Patel, he has two sons, Siddharth and Aditya. And he has lots of work in hand. He is currently doing two films -- one in Punjabi -- and a television series shot in South Africa.
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Kiran Juneja - Veeravali "I played Master Haveliram's sister Veeravali who is in love with Vrushbhaan. On the sets, Ramesh Sippy and I fell in love," says Juneja. "Being a strict disciplinarian, Ramesh never encouraged any romance on the sets. But if you work so close together for a long time, I guess it's easy to fall in love," she adds. "When you see the work you did two decades ago now, it's like a mirror. There is nostalgia; a lot of memories come back." Juneja married Sippy, and post-Buniyaad, won applause for her work in Mahabharat and Junoon. She was also seen in the English serial A Mouthful Of Sky.
Currently, she is working on a Vikram Bhatt film -- called Rooh - The Spirit and set to release by May -- and a serial called Sindoor
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Vijayendra Ghatge - Vrushbhaan "As Veerawali's love interest, Vrushbhaan, I remember two scenes were very touching," says Ghatge. "One is a romantic scene with Veerawali, and one is the scene when he feels helpless at not being able to be close to his illegitimate son Satbir, who is being brought up by Master Haveliraam as his own son," he adds. "Of the work I did after Buniyaad, I enjoyed the serials Talaash and Junoon the most, and then there were roles in movies like Jhankaar Beats and Devdas." Ghatge is currently acting in Marigold -- starring Salman Khan -- and Shaadi Se Pehle, starring Mallika Sherawat. A current affairs television show is also on the cards.
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Kritika Desai - Mangla "I played the character of Mangla, married to Vrushbhaan's legitimate son Jay, played by Abhinav Chaturvedi. However, Mangla was in love with the illegitimate son Satbir. Her character is a nice combination of an independent woman who would fight against injustice but [who] is very conventional in matters of family and heart," says Desai. "Her husband is more of a businessman, while her love interest Satbir likes things she enjoys, like poetry. After marriage, she fights to keep their friendship alive in spite of her husband's discomfort. However, when Jay is fighting cancer, she stands by him," she adds. She refuses to narrate any one memorable incident, saying, "There are a lot of memories about learning, the first brush with fame in a mega serial, first financial independence... Narrating one memory will nullify all others." Kritika's other famous television stints include Chandrakanta, Noorjahan, and VJing Superhit Muqabla. Her roles in Dattak (The Adopted) and the French film Turn Left For This World won her critical acclaim.
She is currently working in serials like Tumhare Disha and Hare Kaanch Ki Chudiya. She also organises theatre workshops with Akansha, a non-governmental organisation that works with underprivileged children.
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