Ratna Pathak Shah calls Sarabhai vs Sarabhai a turning point in her career: ‘Before the show, I was just somebody in the background’

In an interview with Humans of Bombay, when asked if playing Maya changed her life, Ratna Pathak Shah said, “My career as an earning actor, yes. After that, people started noticing me and giving me work. Before that, I was just somebody in the background, and Sarabhai had a great script. The writing is extraordinary.”

She continued, “Everybody talks about the acting in Sarabhai. Of course, it is the more visible thing, but it’s the writing, the direction that made the program work. And the way it was presented by the producers and everyone. It was a show which was confident of itself. It came out with a bang. That made a difference.”

Sarabhai vs Sarabhai aired between 2004 and 2006. It returned with a second season on Hostar in 2017.

Talking about the success of the show, Ratna Pathak Shah said, “Though, I said this umpteen times, when first we were on air, which is 2004-2005, we had a TRP of 0.63 per cent. Nobody saw it, not even my own mum. Nobody understood it, and then when it went online, by then a new audience had grown up. So it sort of came together beautifully. The audience was ready, and this product was there for them. And this marriage was a successful one.”