Fifteen years after it aired its last episode, Hip Hip Hurray! — the Zee TV show so many of us grew up watching (okay, only the senior citizens of Team t2 did) — will make a comeback this year. With new faces and as a web series.
HHH! blazed in one autumn evening in 1998 — and made a special place in the heart of every teen and tween. Tracing the lives and loves of a batch of friends in Standard 12 at DeNobili High School, the series came in as a breath of fresh air — saas-bahu soaps had just started making inroads into Indian television — and Hip Hip Hurray! quickly became our favourite watch. Here’s why we loved the show (and continue to catch it on YouTube).
Me-too feel: For every kid growing up in the ’90s, HHH! was the show we identified with. Besides the fun and games in school, the show focused on the issues that affected every young life — dating to drugs, exam jitters to career confusion. We laughed when they laughed, we cried when they cried and we found solutions to our own problems through them.
The fun times: We loved it every time the gang of friends got together in between classes or after school. Mona and John’s cute chemistry had us go ‘awww’. Our hearts skipped a beat every time we spotted Rafey in the frame. Prishita gave us #stylegoals. Mazhar was the cool guy we crushed on. We loved the goofiness that Cyrus the resident class clown brought to the show. We laughed our hearts out at the ultimate nerd Mehul’s antics. And remember how the girls would tease NRI kid Nonie as “No-knee?”
The actors: We identified with the characters and their predicaments because each of them was played by actors who made a mark and many continue to be popular faces on screens small and big. While Vishal Malhotra (John), Purab Kohli (Mazhar), Shveta Salve (Prishita), Zafar Karachiwala (Rafey), Nauheed Cyrusi (Meera) and Rushad Rana (Raghav) have continued with their acting careers, Sharokh Bharucha (Cyrus) and Samantha Tremayne are now corporate professionals. Peeya Rai Choudhuri, who played the brat Kiran, acted in a few films (including Anjan Dutt’s The Bong Connection). Head girl Mona is, of course, our very own Nilanjanaa Senguptaa (then Sharma). The show’s supporting cast — Vinay Pathak as Vinnie ‘Sir’ to Suchitra Pillai as Alaknanda ‘Maam’ — made even the most ho-hum episodes special.
The title track: Aaj hamara kal apna, picturised on the actors on the school campus, summed up the hopes and aspirations of GenY perfectly and was rendered powerfully by KK and Hema Sardesai.
We still remember it like yesterday: Raghav overcoming his fear of heights with Mehul’s help, Meera bumping into online friend who looked terrible in real life, Prishita’s parents arranging a match for her, Kiran learning to drive, the episode featuring Milind Soman… we could go on and on….
Once-in-a-lifetime kind of an experience — Nilanjanaa ‘Mona’ Senguptaa pens a special piece for t2 on her Hip Hip Hurray!
Is that really you, mom ?” screeched Sara, my 10-year-old daughter. There was an article in the papers about the cast of Hip Hip Hurray! — where they were and how they looked now almost 15 years after the show went on air on Zee TV. And thus began my walk down memory lane with Sara as I watched the episodes of HHH! all over again. Every episode brought back a thousand memories and every query of my 10-year-old took me back to where it all had started.
My video for Silk Route’s Boondein had just gone on air on Channel V, but I had no plans of acting whatsoever. Modelling and ramp shows were my forte and I had no intention of stepping out of my comfort zone. But I did end up auditioning for the show at UTV’s office in Saki Naka (Mumbai) and got a call a week later saying I was selected!
BONDING, TRUST AND CAMARADERIE
The cast of HHH! first met at director Nupur Asthana’s house in 7 Bungalows, Mumbai, an address that became our ‘go-to destination’ for every little thing till the show wound up.
Some of the cast members already knew each other — like Purab (Mazhar), Vishal (John) and Peeya (Kiran) were in college together. For the rest of us, we were meeting for the first time. After our first meeting,we began our workshop at a hall in Vile Parle (east). Nupur and Vinay Pathak, the writer of the show (who also acted as Vinnie Sir), conducted the extensive acting workshops which laid the very foundation of bonding, trust and camaraderie among the cast.
ONE BIG PICNIC
So how was shooting for HHH! any different from shooting any other television serial? For an entire year, all our weekends were given to HHH! as we could only shoot in the school (St. Mary’s in Mazagaon, Mumbai) on weekends. So every date on the school calendar which was a holiday was a working day for the cast and the crew of HHH! But no one complained as shooting for the show was one big picnic. Sammy (Samantha) and Sharokh had cars, so we would carpool and chip in for the fuel.
Whenever there was time in between scenes you would find us at the Irani Restaurant opposite
St. Marys digging into Keema Pav and sipping on Masala Chai. On most days, after pack-up, we would head out to either catch a movie, have dinner somewhere or just hang out at Nupur’s place with some comfort food (read: Rajma Chawal).
WE WOULD SIGN AUTOGRAPHS!
As actors, we were taught the importance of giving cues to our co-actors even if it meant staying back till the very end of the shoot. We were encouraged to ask questions about the character we were essaying and, most importantly, we were taught to never judge the role by its length, but by its meat. We did innumerable rehearsals till we got into the skin of the character.
Even before we began shooting for the show, Nupur had predicted that it would be a roaring success, that our characters would become iconic and most importantly, we would sign autographs :) We found it difficult to believe, but her prediction came true.
Even 15 years later, the actors of HHH! are recognised wherever they go by their screen names. I am still stopped and asked ‘Aren’t you Mona from HHH!?’ So when I am asked how do I feel about a HHH! Part 2 being made... I wish them luck... tons of it! But please do not draw any comparisons.
WE KEPT IT REAL
Fifteen years ago there was no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even selfies. We kept it “real” because that was the only way we knew. Our mentors Nupur and Vinay taught us to be honest to our craft, to be honest as actors, to be honest to an experience called HHH!.
Have you noticed how I keep referring to everything as “us”? That’s what HHH! did for each one of us... formed a bond of a lifetime. Even 15 years later we are connected on a WhatsApp group where we update each other about our lives, share anecdotes about HHH! and, most importantly, rejoice in each other’s happiness. I wish everyone a “once-in-a-lifetime kind of an experience” like HHH! which you can cherish for eternity.
Priyanka Roy and Ratnalekha Mazumdar
What does Hip Hip Hurray! mean to you? Tell t2@abp.in
