Many urban youngsters in the 1990s grew up on the music videos and, later, the comic anchors, on Channel [V]. As their many promos (example above) established, the channel was the nearest things to a unique, irreverent, generational voice that teenagers and youngsters had at the time.

Sep 13, 2016  I guess they decided to stop, in today’s politically correct atmosphere they would have a torrid time in India. Taking offense is the new pansy a## pass time in our country. Everyone feels offended about almost everything. The old clips are still. Dec 03, 2017 The channel was a non-stop course in pop culture studies. Channel V taught us to embrace cultural and regional stereotypes, and turn them on their heads. One of the most endearing characters from back then was Simpu Singh, an animated Sikh school teacher whose students are constantly playing pranks on him. But then on the other hand, Channel V gave us some pretty good memories, during its golden period, some of which I take a look at down below: #1. Simpu Singh, the hilarious and stereotypical Sardar teacher to a school classroom was one of the best things to come out of Channel V.

Which is why, when news broke of Star India’s plan to close down the channel, there was widespread mourning on social media. As comedy artist Azeem Banatwalla put it:

It wasn’t just the music videos, but the VJs – among them Purab Kohli, Anuradha Menon as the hilarious Lola Kutty (above), Munish Makhija as the Jat Udham Singh, the spunky VJ Andy, and the irrepressible Javed Jaffrey – who had their own dedicated following. Not to forget other “characters” on the shows, like “Brought to you Bai” or Simpu Singh.

The channel had successful shows like On the Run, Lola Kutty (video above), Dare 2 Date or Get Gorgeous, and no one can deny its role in launching the careers of artistes like Anushka Manchanda (remember VIVA, the all-girl band?), Sophia Haque, and Anusha Dandekar.

Simpu Channel Version

Lola Kutty, the eccentric Malayali woman in a sari, was certainly one of the channel’s favourite characters:

There was Munish Mukhija as the Haryanvi-speaking Jat Udham Singh.

In case you forgot Simpu Singh, or “Brought to you Bai”, here’s a refresher.

Simpu Channel V Episodes

Purab Kohli was involved with a number of projects. One of them, called Freedom Express, was aired in 2001 on Channel [V]. He was also part of On the Run (below), a travel show where he, along with Anushka Manchanda and Sarah-Jane Dias, travelled across India:

VJ Andy, in recent times, was one of the most recognisable faces on the channel, with shows like Get Gorgeous, Beauty Meets Geek, and the infamous Dare 2 Date.

And last (for now), but certainly, definitely not the least, there was VIVA, the all-girl band featuring Anushka Manchanda besides others. Channel [V] had a pivotal role in launching the band, as well as Manchanda’s career.