Ten years ago, Star Plus went all Hindi. And as we know, several things happened. Kaun Banega Crorepati and saas-bahu serials became national obsessions. Amitabh Bachchan resurrected his fading career (and how — he’s still doing dozens of films and endorsements). Tulsi and gang became part of everyone’s extended family (but remember, those were the innocent days when the serial was still sweet and homely and Tulsi was half her current size). Anyway, Star Plus zoomed to the top and became the country’s No. 1 channel, which it remained till last year when it was unseated by new entrant Colors. After all those years, the channel had seemed a bit worn at the edges. Just like its soap-serial characters: Ba was about 150 years old, but miraculously still alive and kicking. Tulsi was still staggering from family crisis to family crisis. Parvati had had a makeover but no one could remember why. (That’s because the stories had got so convoluted that if anyone had actually tried to figure them out, their collective brain cells would’ve gone into fatal spasms. Thankfully, no one tried). But at the moment, as Star celebrates its tenth anniversary, things are looking good. The channel is back at the No. 1 position and while it’s unlikely that it will remain at that slot, unchallenged, for another ten years, it has reclaimed its numero uno title by a convincing margin — for the moment, at least.
Tulsi and Parvati have gone away (and not a day too soon) but both of them reappeared as Tulsi and Parvati at the recently telecast Star Parivaar Awards (where the new look of the channel was revealed — everything is a bright red now).
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