-'CID' Enters 15th Years-

"CID," India's ' and the world's - longest-running television series celebrates entered its 15th year on Jan. 28. 😃😃

In 1998, when Sony Entertainment Television and Fireworks Productions launched it as a weekly crime thriller, little did anyone realize that it would create history. 😃😃😃

Today, "CID" still stands strong, boasting of 807 episodes, 603 cases solved and a decade and a half of nonstop adventure with over 40 awards to its credit!

The TRPs have shot up and recent episodes have shown TRP ratings of a very high 4-5, incredible for a non-soap and a show that has been running for so long! 😃😃😃

Sony Entertainment Television, the flagship channel of the Sony group, now owned by Multi-Screen Media Pvt. Ltd., celebrated the show with a press conference at Mumbai's Taj Land's End on March 1.

In a simple and heartfelt speech, B.P. Singh, producer and director, Fireworks Productions and creator of the show, said, "Last year, a journalist asked me, 'Has making murder stories and thinking about murder all the time since so many years affected you psychologically?'😆😆😆

I hope they don't ask the same question from our artists who have been with us since the last 14 years and have lived a third of their lives on my sets!"😆😆😆

Stating that it is nothing less than blessings of God and "bhagya ki baat" (good luck) to have the best of teams and the same cast for 14 years, Singh admitted that the "CID" boat did face turbulent waters some years ago. But it was N.P. Singh, the then-new COO of Sony, who stood by him like a rock.😃

B.P. Singh also lauded the entire team and made sure that the current cast were on stage when a huge chocolate cake with almond icing was cut along with principal (and permanent) cast members Shivaji Satam (who plays the iconic ACP Pradyuman), Dayanand Shetty (Inspector Daya) and Aditya Srivastav (Inspector Abhijeet).

He recalled the Roll of Honor in writers who looked after "CID" successively for years ' Shridhar Raghavan (writer of films like "Khakee" and "Bluffmaster!") with whom the show began, his brother Sriram Raghavan (writer-director of "Ek Hasina Thi,""Johnny Gaddaar" and now "Agent Vinod") and Rajat Aroraa ("Bluffmaster!,""Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai" and "The Dirty Picture") who had gone on to achieve great glories in cinema.

"I am extremely thankful to my entire team, directors and cast, because this success would not have been possible without them." He also requested the current six young writers, five of whom are 20-something girls, to stand up in the audience and be applauded.

Finally, the action is no longer restricted to Mumbai. In a bid to give value for money, the intrepid team has now even shot in Europe and will be seen working on cases all over India as well.😃😃

A special episode will feature Saif Ali Khan to promote "Agent Vinod," the new Sriram Raghavan-Khan film, in which, very interestingly, B.P.Singh portrays Saif's boss!