Aanjjan Srivastav: Wagle owed his entire success to RK Laxman and his Common Man cartoons

Over many decades, readers woke up to the iconic cartoonist RK Laxman’s Common Man cartoons everyday in The Times of India (TOI). Taking inspiration from these cartoon series, the TV show 'Wagle Ki Duniya', a popular sitcom on Doordarshan that had Aanjjan Srivastav and Bharti Achrekar playing the lead roles, was launched in 1988. The show is now back in a new avatar and will see Sumeet Raghvan as Srivastav’s son.

When BT spoke to Aanjjan Srivastav, he says, “My show 'Wagle Ki Duniya' owes its success to the Common Man cartoon series created by RK Laxman. The entire satirical humour and slice-of-life comic situations that the show portrayed, is credited to him. If we did not have the Common Man cartoons in TOI every day, the show would have never happened. Producer Ravi Ojha and director Kundan Shah were the people responsible for the success of the show. Our new show, planned by producer JD Majethia, 'Wagle Ki Duniya – Nayi Peedhi, Naye Kissey' is a tribute to the Common Man.”
Talking about being part of the show, Sumeet Raghavan says, “I had heard many scripts, but I chose to be part of this show, because I felt it would be interesting to portray the character in today’s context. I feel that the common man has upgraded to the upper middle class and has a different set of problems than what was prevalent when the first season aired." He added, “The fact that Aanjjanji and Bharatiji will also be part of the show is another reason why I felt it was important to be a part of it."
Srivastav is returning to TV after eight years. He says, "I may have done many films and theatre, but I am still known as Wagle. I feel that showing two generations in the TV show will be interesting for viewers, because they face different problems. I am excited to deliver my favourite dialogue, ‘See the fun'."