After the lockdown began, Doordarshan began telecasting old serials like Ramayan, Mahabharat and Buniyaad on its national channel as well as the new DD Retro channel. People who had seen these serials during the original telecasts became nostalgic and new viewers also began watching as they wanted to see why these serials had attainted an iconic status. In fact, the Retro Channel is showing almost all the popular old Doordarshan serials.
However, Buniyaad has been extremely popular these days, bringing joy to viewers in these difficult and puzzling times. So many memories of so many people have been brought back by this exceptionally well-made saga of four generations of a family which goes through the partition. Each character is beautifully conceived and built up and the nuances of relationships among the family are delicately portrayed in this serial written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and directed by Ramesh Sippy in the mid-1980s.
Satbir, the youngest son(adopted) of Master Haveli Ram (who was played by Alok Nath) was portrayed by renowned film and TV actor Kanwaljit Singh who has had a long association with Saharanpur, Dehradun and Mussoorie. He belongs to Saharanpur and has studied at Saint George’s College, Mussoorie. He also lived in Dehradun when his father was posted here for a while. “However, I was very small at that time,”he told the Pioneer in an interview. Asked about his memories of his “Buniyaad” days, he said that during the casting, Ramesh Sippy had asked him to do the role of Roshan Lal (which was finally done by Mazhar Khan) but he wanted to play Satbir (also called Satyavir or Prince in the serial). “It seemed that I was a bit overweight –so I went on a diet for around twenty five days –and when I went back to his office , he just said-‘Aaiye Satbir ji’ !”
Kanwaljit Singh, it seems, was destined to play Satbir as it is by this role that he is always recalled most. “In fact, people kept calling me Satbir and still do,” he said. Those who have watched Buniyaad regularly and carefully will agree that his role was one of the strongest in the serial and most impressive indeed. “I wanted to prove myself through this intense role that was required for Satbir’s character and thus refused the role of Roshan Lal although I could have done that well too,”said the actor who proved himself as the superstar of the TV industry through serials like “Farman”, “Saans “ and “Siski”. “Besides Buniyaad, I loved Farmaan.”
He said that he was happy that people were watching Buniyaad again with great interest and youngsters were getting an idea of what people went through during the Partition. “When I was acting in Buniyaad, all we knew was that Ramesh Sippy was a star director and Manohar Shyam Joshi was a star writer who had written Hum Log. It was later that we realised the classic status of the series.” He said he remembered how well writer Krishna Sobti helped in the execution of the dialogues and the serial. Kanwaljit Singh shared a little known interesting fact when he said that the makers of Buniyaad had originally considered taking Amitabh Bachchan for Satbir’s role and Dilip Kumar for the role of Haveli Ram! However, that would not have proved viable as the serial went on for a long while. Not only does Kanwaljit Singh have an Uttarakhand connection but the serial also featured Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun, Saharanpur and Uttarkashi. This was due to the fact that Manohar Shyam Joshi belonged to Kumaon. So, people of Uttarakhand feel happy when they see these places in the serial.
Kanwaljit Singh keeps visiting Doon and Mussoorie to meet his old friends and to attend film-related events. “I was there for the shooting of Mere Brother ki Dulhan and for the re-unions we have at Saint George’s. I just need an excuse to be in Dehradun and Mussoorie.I have so many memories there and friends too”.
He said that watching Buniyaad after more than thirty years made him very nostalgic.
The actor has always had great interest in Urdu poetry and says that his association with poets and writers like Kaifi Azmi, Kamaal Amrohi and Jaanissaar Akhtar had enhanced this interest. “The lockdown has made me go back to writing poetry after a long time.It has made me very philosophical,” says Singh who is a versatile painter and has recorded his recitations of Mirza Ghalib, Faiz and Kaifi Azmi.
Buniyaad’s Satbir will always stay with Kanwaljit Singh and with all those who have known and watched the serial. Satbir-honest, shy, innocent, serious, intense, simple and sensitive. Much like Kanwaljit Singh himself.