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EXCLUSIVE: Hip Hip Hurray director shares fond memory from show: Purab Kohli, Vishal Malhotra would imitate me
In an EXCLUSIVE conversation with Nupur Asthana, the director revealed fond memories from her most loved show, Hip Hip Hurray, and if she ever had apprehensions about breaking the mould of Indian television in the 90s with her now cult teenage series.
During the quarantine period due to the coronavirus scare, TV shoots have been cancelled with channels taking advantage of the nostalgia factor and bringing back iconic shows like Ramayana and Hum Paanch to keep the audience entertained and hooked to their television screens! Amongst the iconic shows on Indian television that people are still talking about, two decades later (1998 to be exact!), is the cult teenage series, Hip Hip Hurray. The Nupur Asthana directorial broke the mould and shed light on its target audience, which was the youth! Hip Hip Hurray also made household names out of stars like Purab Kohli, Vishal Malhotra, Sharukh Barucha, Shabir Aluwaliya, Kishwar Merchant and Bhumika Chawla amongst several others.
In an EXCLUSIVE conversation with Pinkvilla, Nupur spoke candidly about her most loved show, which has earned its deserved cult status over the years! While talking about a fond memory from the sets of Hip Hip Hurray, Asthana recalled, "I had 14 characters on the show. Imagine 14 actors talking at the same time, it could drive anybody crazy! I was young, impatient and hot-heated. I used to be like 'Okay guys, we are ready for the shot' but nobody is listening and instead, everybody is chit-chatting. I had to actually get up on the table in a classroom. These guys are so tall, I mean Purab and Shahrukh were really tall! I actually climbed up on the table and screamed 'Shut Up! We're ready for the take.' Also, the boys would imitate me and that was hilarious! Purab and Vishal would make fun of me!"
While shows like Beverly Hills 90210 were a smash hit in the West, Hip Hip Hurray helped beckon the teenage show's era for future hit series' like Remix and Miley Jab Hum Tum. On whether she faced any apprehensions about making the show, Nupur staunchly revealed, "That was my most fearless show as a maker, writer, creator and director. I feared nothing! I just didn't think about it. I was just like, 'Do I want to watch this? Will my friends enjoy watching this? Am I going to enjoy watching this with my friends? Yes, I am!' Therefore, that's what I wrote, pitched, created and directed. I had a great producer, Zarina Mehta of UTV, who let me do my own thing and it was just magical. I was very young when I did Hip Hip Hurray, I was in my mid-20s. It was incredible. I am also so touched when people remember the show. It's overwhelming."
Is Hip Hip Hurray amongst your favourite shows of all time? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
Moreover, when we asked about the current status of Indian television, according to her point of view, Asthana shared, "I haven't been watching too much Indian television, to be honest... I'm mostly on an OTT platform watching something. I think there's a huge audience out there and one has to keep up... sometimes I feel sad, sometimes I feel hopeful."
Meanwhile, on the work front, Nupur recently directed Four More Shot Please Season 2 starring Sayani Gupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari and Maanvi Gagroo in the lead roles.
