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Famous Old Faces of Doordarshan

Some people recall the faces and some people recall the names. Here are images of some of the famous readers and presenters of Doordarshan down the years. If you recognize any of them, leave a comment.
[Update 1: Most of the faces now have names thanks to helpful comments by olio-gallimaufry]
[Update 2: Included image of one of the earliest presenters, Gopal Kaul. Send in generously from personal collection by son, Ashutosh Kaul. Sept, 2010.]
[Major Update 3: Got a tip-off about a documentary about the famous faces of Doordarshan from the makers of  “The Golden Trail , DD@50 :Special feature on Golden Jubilee of Doordarshan” from which these caps were taken. I managed to catch the incredible documentary and am adding some more faces/name and part of the docu here. New ones can be found after the image of Narotam Puri. 30th Oct, 2010]

 Pratima Puri. Believed to be the first Doordarshan reader.


Gopal Kaul with Raj Kapoor.

Easiest face to recall. Salma Sultan [Previous post]
Kamleshwar. Writer.
Melville De Mello
Rini Khanna (?) Mukta, used to cover program weekly letter and response based program Aap aur Hum. (thanks to anony tipoff, check the comments)
Minu Talwar
Another one of Minu Talwar

Sudha Chopra. Also appeared in a couple of films.
Jyotsana Rai
One more of Jyotsana Rai
Another one of Jyotsana Rai
Manoj Raghuvanshi

Veena Mishra (updated based on comment)
Arshiya Bawa
Vinod Dua. Another famous face. Later moved to NDTV.
K.K. Raina.

Nalini Singh Harsaran Bir Kaur (?)
Narotam Puri, used to cover sports
Mukta Shrivastav
Gitanjali Ayyar
Gitanjali Iyer in print ad for Solidaire Tv. 1988. The Indian Express. (for reference check comments)

Kaveri Mukherjee
Shobhana Jagdish
Rama Pandey
Avinash Kaur Sarin
Baritone Tejeshwar Singh
Gerson Da Cunha
Glamorous Komal G. B. Singh.
Last famous appearance -  at the start of year 2010 in a televison ad for e-bay with Narrotam Puri.
Still with DD
Dolly Thakore interviewing Hema Malini in a phone-in program.
Trivia: Indira Gandhi's defeat in 1977 election and Janta Party's win was announced on Doordarshan by newsreader Dolly Thakore. It is said that she, characteristically of a Doordarshan reader, was smiling. 
Jayanthi Natarajan interviewing General Cariappa. She started her career at Doordarshan Madras.
She went on to join politics.
Shobhna Ravi
Sashi Kumar interviewing Kamal Hassan. Sashi Kumar. Started at madras station of Doordarshan and later among other things went on to launch Asiannet, India's first regional satellite channel.

Bhakti Barve, theater artist and film actor, started her career at Bombay station of Doordarshan.
Smita Patil started at Bombay station of Doordarshan as a reader.
Luku Sanyal, daughter of actor Pahari Sanyal, the first face of English news in Mumbai, with 'The News'.
Rajiv Mehrotra
Prannoy Roy hosting 'The week that was'The World This Week.
Suneet Tandon
N. Vishwanathan, from Calcutta Doordarshan. Acted in Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjunga (1962)
Sarla Maheshwari
Neethi Ravindran
Shobhana Jagdish
Ved Prakash

As I have written a bit about Kashmir station while writing about Doordarshan, it was an added delight to see Doordarshan Kashmir make a special appearance in the Documentary.

Syed Shabir Ahmed. Urdu voice at the Srinagar Station. Later also worked at Calcutta station.
Naseem Khan joined Doordarshan Srinagar in 1973.

Crew of Doordarshan Kashmir
-0-
The video:

Comments

  1. vinod dua , manoj raghuvanshi , narottam puri were there for a long time and the former two still are..but yar who is the lady above raghuvanshi's pic ? i can't recall her name.

    and , as always. u have brought back the nostalgia of those beautiful days of simplicity ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Sandeep,

      I am a student in JNU researching on Black and White television. You seem to have a great grasp of Doordarshan of 80s and perhaps also 70s?

      Delete
  2. is she shobana jagdish?
    and can u give their names also please

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, Sandeep! It's great that you actually remember. Updated the post with your info.

    I am depending on others to come up with the names.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Vinayak,
    This is Jayesh Adhyaru.
    These are fantastic stuff!
    How did U get these images? I mean, U recorded DD's programme? When r they airing old stuff (as a part of Golden Jubilee Celebration)?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jayesh,
    on 15 September Doordarshan had shown a special documentary titled "The Golden Trail , DD@50 :Special feature on Golden Jubilee of Doordarshan” as part of the celebration. I had managed to catch it. Tried to capture by muddled it, then found it uploaded on Youtube by some. Took the caps from that video. You can watch "The Golden Trail , DD@50 :Special feature on Golden Jubilee of Doordarshan” HERE at my previous blog post. Enjoy!

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  6. Also, prior to this documentary, for about a week their Delhi station was airing some vintage stuff in its evening transmission. I managed to watch an RD Burman stage performance in which Jalal Agha went crazy while performing 'Mehbooba Mehbooba'. It was awesome!
    I am sure some of this stuff will soon be available on DVD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Are you referring to the same program where RDB shows a small magic trick of a disappearing microphone?

      Delete
  7. Pic # 8 is Meenu Talwar. #13 is Arshiya Bawa. #15 is K.K. Raina.

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  8. Gallimaufry,
    thank you! I could have never figured that out. And I had no idea K.K. Raina also read News...couldn't recognize him at all.

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  9. You're welcome! I'm enjoying the nostalgic memory jogs :)
    #4 is Kamleshwar.
    #9 is Sudha Chopra. She played Jaya Bhaduri's mother in the 1981 Yash Chopra film "Silsila".
    #16 isn't Nalini Singh (she's slimmer and hasn't changed at all)
    #10 is Jyotsana. (She didn't give out her last name).

    ReplyDelete
  10. You are great! I thought I would never get to know their names.

    Even I am not sure about #16.

    #4 Kamleshwar. Would have remembered him a couple of weeks later :) The cap here is from one of his early talk shows.

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  11. i am in love with jyotsana :)
    and no,that's not rini khanna

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  12. Sandeep,
    that's why you were eager to know her name :)

    And was making a wild guess about Rini Khanna. But i am sure I have seen that face.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Read about an old print ad featuring a Doordarshan News reader Gitanjali Iyer:

    In one advertisement for Solidaire TV, the headline boasts:"If the eye-lashes of the news-reader are clearly visible...it must be Solidaire" (India Today, December 31, 1985).
    - 'Gandhi meets primetime: globalization and nationalism in Indian television' by Shanti Kumar

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  14. the Lady above Minu Talwar is Mukta, she used to cover program weekly letter and response based program Aap aur Hum

    BTW the correct name of Minu is Menu Menon and not Talwar

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  15. jyotsna's surname (as i know) was roy. mukta's was srivastava. btw mukta passed some 9 yrs back by cancer.

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  16. Above Narottam Puri (#14) looks like Harsaran Bir Kaur

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  17. Anony,
    thanks! Let's see if others agree.

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  18. I stumbled across this by sheer (delightful) error. Nostalgia, super stuff. Anyone remember that bearded handsome newsreader - Tejinder Singh, I think his name was. Baritone voice. And, those from Madras Doordarshan would remember Shashi Menon and Usha Albequerque too.

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  19. Sats offline,
    Tejinder Singh is of course a famous name. And Usha Albuquerque.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The faces I remember in 1980s are Deepak Vohra and the puppet 'Ji Saheb' in morning transmission; Tabassum in Afternoon transmission; Usha Albuquerque of News.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I also remember Mukul Shrivastava and Pawan Duggal along with Deepak Vohra in the morning shows. 'Ji Saheb' appeared with Deepak and later a female puppet (Bharti, I guess??) came with Mukul.

      Delete
  21. I remember Tabassum's afternoon show.

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  22. Can anyone provide me with the pic of Shobhana jagdish plz?

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  23. The lady below Manoj Raghuvanshi is Avinash Kaur Sareen.

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  24. Saar.. Where is Rini Simon? Was someone whom we all 40 something today used to connect with during our college days.

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  25. Ah yes, but didn't Salma Sultan wear a rose behind her ear? I was too little; I don't remember.

    I would recommend reading Anil Dharker's 'Sorry Not Ready (Television in the time of PM Darshan)' to anyone who wants to relive the DD days.

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  26. @Sunil
    i actually needed a lot of help for this one. In fact, some of the face at the top (interestingly Male) still remain unidentified.

    @Ramesh
    the images here are just caps from Golden Anniversary DD special. Maybe it's time i add images of other presenters too. It's interesting that you mentioned Rini Khanna Simon. In the images above i misidentified Mukta as Rini Khanna. Rini Khanna joined Doordarshan back in 1985. Here's a link about her. I didn't know she's the voice for Delhi Metro . How about that!

    @Wordsmithy
    Even I was a kid back then. I read Salma Sultan started wearing the rose quite late, only in the 80s. Thanks for recommending the book! Will try to get my hands on it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Theres Melville de Mello there! Whether it was the Republic Day parade or any other commentary, he used to lend his Angrez voice. :) Recently I saw a feature on Jim Corbett on DD Bharati made in the 1970s( my lil one was thrilled to see a prog abt his hero!) which had the entire narration by de Mello. It was sheer nostalgia fr me to hear that voice from my childhood.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Shankari,
    too bad i missed the show. Would have loved to hear Melville de Mello's voice. I hope they have a 'repeat telecast'.
    Isn't DD Bharati great! They have been dedicatedly sharing stuff from the Doordarshan archives.

    ReplyDelete
  29. u forgot the newscaster with prigous memory,Murli Damodharan

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi! Vinayak,
    Following ur blog for quite some time now & i really appreciate ur work.
    Just wanted to point out that the programme hosted by Prannoy Roy was "The World This Week" and not'The week that was'

    ReplyDelete
  31. Shantanu,
    my mistake. Thanks for pointing out!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Nice post...Those golden one and only TV broadcasting station days...

    Some of the names that can be included are, Anjali Roy (she was my dream girl those days :)), Rini (Simon) Khanna, Pankaj Mohan (I loved his way of reading the news), Sandhya Rajagoplan (Chennai DD), Fathima Babu (Chennai DD)

    ReplyDelete
  33. Raj,
    thanks for adding those names to the list.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hey Vinayak,great job!

    The photo immediately below N.Vishwanathan is of Sarla Maheshwari. The one below that is of an English newsreader(forgot the name!). Then is Shobhana Jagdish and the one after that one is of Ved Prakash.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Aakash,
    thanks for the input! Have updated the post with these names. Shobhana Jagdish and Ved Prakash were perhaps the most popular face of News in the late 80s and the early 90s.

    ReplyDelete
  36. the one below narottam puri (used to cover sports) is mukta shrivastav.below her is gitanjali ayyar, then kaveri mukherjee. and one between shobhana jagdish and avinash kaur sarin is rama pandey .....not to be confused with later rama pandey who used to cover weather report.

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  37. Anony,
    this is incredible! Thanks for the info., have updated the post with these names.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I may be wrong... but isn't the lady above Shobana Jagdish... the one with the mole and shor hair, Neeti Ravindran?

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  39. Hi ma name is MINU.When i was born ,doordarshan was d oly channel der in ma home.My family s fond of d news reader MINU.....Dats y i got d name MINU........!!!

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  40. Thanks a lot for the blog. We are missing CHAMAN GUPTA and the omnipresent "RUKAWAT KE LIYE KHED HAI" torn chappal. RAMU DAMODARAN was one of the best newscasters. In the pre-digiprompter days, he used to read without looking at his paper longer than any of us could ever imagine. YURI KHURANA was another charming face. Any news on her?
    Regards,
    R.Mukund

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Rukawat Ke liye Khed hai" also showed a picture of a rat and a photo reel :D

      Delete
  41. great to see more of the DD faces ...you are doing a great job...it was really great to see Ved Prakash ...please add Shammi Narang, and J V Raman as well>
    (and special thanks for including a couple more pics of Jyotsna :))

    ReplyDelete
  42. and the lady next to Sarla Maheshwari is Neethi Ravindran

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  43. also , i think the voices in Delhi Metro (about a year ago ) are Komal G B Singh and Shammi Narang.

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  44. wow ...it is really amazing .Bring back memory of Sunday evening Movie..and Wednesday and Friday ..Chrithar

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  45. Sandeep,
    thanks for adding all those names! Have name tagged Neethi Ravindran's pic.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I think it is Manjari Joshi below Manoj Raghuvanshi's picture.

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  47. In Delhi Metro, the announcers are Shammi Narang and Rini Khanna (previously known as Rini Simon) of Doordarshan.

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  48. hey
    thr is also another reader who used t be present whenevr thr was a doordarshan report used to be shown in any movie .... i was jus watching Jaane Bhi do yaaron and was wondering what her name was .. any clues ???

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  49. @Anony
    Bhakti Barve. She is featured in this post.

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  50. What A pleasant surprise to see my most un-forgettable colleagues. Thank u for creating such a memorable nostalgia.

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  51. A pleasure to hear that from you. Thanks for appreciation!

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  52. Thanks a lot Vinayak..This is a amazing read.I am half the age of durdarshan and I have grown up with it.This makes me miss that charm more n more.

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  53. I recall N Vishwanathan reading the English News on Calcutta Doordarshan in his impecccable accent in the late 70's .
    Later when I went to St. Xaviers College , Calcutta , in the earliy 90's he was my English Professor too !!

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  54. Another interesting trivia

    Tejeswar Singh had essayed the vilian's role in a Hindi movie named Jalwa (1985) that also starred Naseeruddin Shah & Archana Puran Singh

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  55. I do not see Sadhana Shrivasta's name anywhere on thi blog . She used to be my fav annoucer on DD Delhi !!!

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  56. Thank you Vinayak,for the 'nostalgia shared with us.It is my proud privilege to have written to Mr Melville de Mellow on two occasions- one on reading his article titled " The petals on Ganga" on the Anglo Indian Community published in The Illustrated weekly of India and on another occasion remembering his 'golden voice' over the AIR s a broadcaster.On both the occasions he has replied with warmth and affection.I cherish these two occasions.-voleti venkata subbarao , vernon hills IL-60061/USA

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  57. susee,
    thanks for sharing your experience!

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  58. Hi This is a refreshing walk down memory lane. Are you sure about Rama Pandey's picture. Also it'll be great to have Sukanya Balakrishnan's picture. She read English news.

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  59. Anony,
    As one of the commenter mentioned Rama Pandey here is."not to be confused with later rama pandey who used to cover weather report."

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  60. where is shami narang. iremeber him quikly putting back pen in his shirt ppocket after the news

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  61. I think the lady after Manoj Raghuvanshi is Veena mishra.
    Then at Bombay DD there were Kumud Mirani (she had a short stint), Sarita Sethi, Harish bhimani, Kumar Elawadi, Arvind Mehra (for HIndi). Pradeep Bhide, a bearded guy in Khadi-Anant something.., Bhakti Barve, Smita talwalkar, Savita Prabhune (marathi). Then there was JV Raman at DD Nat Netwrok HIndi news

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. bearded guy in khadi- Anant Bhave. Charusheela Patwardhan was a news reader, so was Dolly Thakore,...then there were Vishwas Mehendale, Sabira Merchant (What's the Good Word? programme), Kamleshwar with "Parikrama", Tabassum with "Phool khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan), Baban Prabhu, Yakub Saeed... and there were a great range of producers like Vinay Apte, Vinayak Chaskar, Dr. Kiran Chitre, Akashanand (Dnyaandeep programme which became a social movement with Dnyandeep Mandals formed in many places: he expired a few months ago), Suhasini Mulgaonkar (Sundar Maaza Ghar)... the list is endless. Refer here for more: http://aparanjape.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/mumbai-doordarshan-circa-1970s-the-black-and-white-tv-era/

      Delete
    2. Dr. jyotsna Kripekar (marathi news and acted in Shirdi ke Saibaba)
      Dr. Padam. Singhvi ( jaan hai to jahan hai)
      Jayant Narlikar (akashashi zAdle nata)
      Rupin Shah
      Fredun Devitre (sports)
      Farooque Sheikh (parichay i think)
      Vijay Kadam (Gajra)
      Shri Ram (The unblinking newsreader, was it)
      Pratibha ani pratima had Various presenters
      Manju Singh (Khel Khilone, movie Golmaal, amol palekars sister)
      Meena Padhye (Kilbil)
      Was it Badrinarayan in halla gulla pathshala??

      Delete
  62. Wowww.. this was really amazing... what a journey down the memory lane! It was so nice to see all wonderful n pioneer faces in the world of media again during our childhood, after ages specially when they were all so young n in their hey-days! Thanks to all who have compiled this page though I could not find the person I was looking for here.

    Yes, DJ the lady after Manoj Raghuvanshi is indeed Veena Mishra. If anybody knows the name of the lady who's appearing these days in the serial 'Bade Achhe Lagte Hain' on Sony TV as a language teacher working with 'Priya' pls post ur information here and enlighten us. She was one of the presenters on DD if I'm not mistaken.

    And I agree with what Sandeep Kowaldkar wrote abt Shammi Narang... n smiled at it! Don't forget the rose flower always tucked on the side in Salma Sultana's juda!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes her first name is Madhu, do not remember her title...she used to be te compere of children's programme and some other programmes too.

      @ Vinayak Razdaan
      Thanks for reviving the memories of good old times. I would like remind you of another lady sunita buddhiraja who used to compère the literary programme.

      Delete
  63. Hi friends I am looking for Manju Sing's sister's name who was also a newsreader on doordarshan. Manju singh played the role of Amol Paleker's sister in Goalmaal. Her Sister was a famous newsreader Please help me find her name.this is Manju singh's picture. http://i1208.photobucket.com/albums/cc375/pooshipoo/383805_159113547524507_100002775882614_162008_1569703440_n.jpg

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    Replies
    1. She used to anchor the serial EK KAHANI by Abid Surti that used to get aired every Thursday.

      Delete
  64. You have missed one very sophisticated English News reader's mention, who was a regular on Bombay's (Mumbai's) English News, in the 70's thru to the 80's. His name is Viren Luther, a very handsome and gentlemanly man, with a striking mustache.

    Luther later went on to become the Executive Director of Film Festivals, and Director of NFDC (National Film Development Corporation.). So you can see, that you clearly missed his name in your list of Bombay's English News readers.

    Please add his name, and I can provide the photo if you want.

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  65. there is no amita kohli , sister of manju singh, i think she was the best

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  66. Wow! this is amazing! even after 2 decades, I could relive those days by reading this, Thanks Vinayak.

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  67. that is great knowledge & revival of my old memories of growing up with Doordarshan

    thank you for posting such stuff...


    keep growing

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  68. From the first response on Oct 8, 2009 to this one of mine on Feb 23, 2012 shows how much we (my guess that we are all above 30's ) loved the good old DD days. Everyone has their own share of nostalgia associated with DD and I believe it would be embedded in their memories forever. Keep sharing ..Generation-DD :-) !!!...

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  69. Narottam Puri is (was) also a Delhi based doctor. I had my nose surgery done by him.

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  70. hello sir,
    My name is vikas. can you pleas tell me anything about malvika roy, she was am english news reader, pleas give any information of her and any pic if possible

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  71. pls include the statesque Komal G.B.Singh in this list of pioneers.

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  72. Superb work! I salute you for remembering the Doordarshan era so well!

    Will share your link with friends.

    Cheers

    Keyur :)
    thecommonmanspeaks.com

    ReplyDelete
  73. Hi! This is Krishnakumar(Kolhapur)
    I too have some newsreaders' names to be nostalgic:
    Sheila Chaman
    Chaman Gupta
    Shammi NArang
    J V Raman
    Manjiri Joshi
    Sukanya Balakrishnan
    Ashish Sinha
    Shivendra Kundra
    Prabhajyot Kaur(Announcer)
    Rajmani Rai(Aap aur Hum fame)
    Manna Bahadur(Interviewer)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. very nice...thanks for these names as we almost forget them in our busy life but we always love that golden era of our life..

      Delete
  74. I was trying to remember Suneet Tandon's name. That's what brought me here. When I was a child in the early 90's - Tandon would always be on with his beautiful Oxbridge baritone. I was struck by his deep voice, his beard and the fact that he was so skinny. He always added gravitas to proceedings. I wonder what he is up to now. Tandon is lost in the shouty sea of Rajdeeps, Arnabs, Sagarikas and Bharkas. Liberalisation has not been kind to the icons of the Doordarshan era.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I too reached here looking for Sunit Tandon :)

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  75. very well said vijay ...and i have seen sunit tandon on DD Loksabha a few times

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  76. My Favorite always was Sunit Tandon and Sangeetha Bedi, and those days DD New readers has only set the standard for present days modern news readers.
    Hats offs, thery left an unforgettable nostalgic memory to all botn in 70's and early 80's.

    Any please let us know where if any videos of those can be found

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  77. There used to be school-girlish reader called Mrinalini who was quite un bearable to watch. Also a news reader/anchor called Sadhana Srivastava.... who was quite pretty with those flashing eyes...maybe contact lenses?? Can you please tell me about these ??

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  78. Ya , she is Mrinalini J Singh, great people we never forget in life, a short video of news reading by kaveri mukherji and sukanya Balakrishnan is avl in youtube, could not find any more

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  79. Thanks blogger!!! I landed here when I was trying to find out the name of Rajeshwar Singh, I remembered his look voice and was really a fan of him, Salma Sultan, Sarla maheshwari, Suneet Tandon, Rinni Khanna (I remember her but i dont see her pic here,) Thanks!!!!

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  80. Pankaj Mohan was a regular DD newsreader. He also acted with Yatrik.

    Udai Bir Saran Das ... and Preet Singh Bedi ...

    Where are all these folks now?

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  81. I do not find any photo of another News reader J B Raman. hindi news reader

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  82. Can any once give the name of the Play produced by Doordarshan and acted by Shobhna Jagdish or Avinash kaur sarin. Where she play a role of lady disabled by one leg

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  83. Read a comment that Jyotsna did not reveal her surname which is incorrect. Her surname was Mohapatra and she used to present 'Aap Aur Hum' with Kuber Dutt.

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  84. Just realized Gitanjali Aiyar recently wrote a nostalgic piece for 17th anniversary collectors issue of OUTLOOK. [here]. And the pic used in the article is the one originally posted here against her name. Another one of my two bit contribution to archiving Indian popular culture.

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  85. The only time I have seen Doordarshan handle a Western classical music concert with finesse and knowledge of music was when Sita Nanda produced a symphony concert conducted in Mumbai by Zubin Mehta. Zubin Mehta thanked and congratulated Sita Nanda afterwards and more so because she had stayed on like a true professional even after she got the tragic news just before the concert that her mother had suddenly died. That is what I call true professionalism and it came from Doordarshan’s own staff.

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  86. Where is Sandhya Balakrishnan??????????

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    Replies
    1. I think, you meant Sukanya Balkrishnan!! Right??

      Delete
  87. Neethi Ravindaran (English newscaster of 1970s)... was my class teacher's older sister in New Delhi!! Her father General Raj Ratnam ran a school with same name and I was a student there. I remember speaking to her in English...I was 11 years old then.

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  88. Nice to see this blog. Thanks Mr. Razdan. I had sketched few news resders during 1991, while reading the famous 8.40 pm news. Pls suggest how can I post those sketches. They were instant ones using sketch pen.
    Regsrds
    Rakesh Gupta. rakgupt05@gmail.com

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  89. There was a sports announcer. In bombay dd called fredun something. .. forgot his full name

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  90. those old days were glorious days of Doordarshan Era.. I wish if those days can be brought back and doordarshan can be regain its popularity, hhhhmmmmmm!! at least I suggest that if doordarshan will start showin all its older serials/ programmes one by one daily, am sure it could regain its lost popularity and will be a good way for everyone to remember/recall the old memories n specially to all those people who have actually have been brought up in that ERA..

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  91. इन सबको देख कर बचपन की याद तजा हो गयी. विनोद दुआ तो बिलकुल ही बदल गए है. क्या इन लोगों की वर्तमान की फोटोज भी आपके पास है.... अगर हो तो जरूर टैग करें- धन्यवाद्

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  92. thanks sooo very much for recalling that golden period of doordarshan..we missed all these tv presenters and news readers, i also missed MS PRABHJOT KAUR in your photo gallary , can we have any picture of her if you have ....

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  93. i remember a few. esp neethi rajendran and sunit tandaon. there was one malovika roy. even illiterate old men watched her reading news in stylish english. frns pls share news about her if any.. elango- madurai, tamilnadu.

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    Replies
    1. yes! I was die hard fan of Malovika Roy those days..

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    2. I was not knowing english, but was not missing her news. I love you Malvika mam.

      Delete
  94. Another name is missing here and that is of Jasleen Vohra

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  95. Superb. Where did you get all this from?

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  96. Ramu Damodaran deserves another mention. One of the best readers of the english language.... ever. And I don't just mean doordarshan. He could have hosted the news on any channel, even BBC or CNN.

    After news reading, he became a member of the Indian Foreign Service where he held the post of Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister of India, served Indian diplomatic missions in Moscow and to the United Nations, and held assignments in a range of other governmental ministries.

    He is now the Deputy Director for Partnerships and Public Engagement, Outreach Division, Department of Public Information in the UN (United Nations).

    This is a real achievement and deserves to be highlighted.

    Here is a youtube clip of the man speaking flawless english

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm5Sp0pKypk

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  97. Great stuff, my friend - thanks a lot for bringing back those good old days...

    I remember Sasi Menon, who used to be called the "verbal wonder from MCC" during our college days and who went on to become one of the early news readers in DD. Later he would anchor programmes like "Money Matters" and also used to be called upon to interview high ranking foreign diplomats on DD! He had a rich voice and an excellent diction...

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  98. I'm so glad you put this up. Every night, I go to my folks place for dinner and dad invariably tunes in to those 24*7 news channels. All I can hear is cacophony. A riot fest on prime time. Maniacal news anchors, uncouth mud slinging guests, baroque and absolutely crass music cues. It made me miss the simple no frills approach that DD had adopted. I'm using "had" because that channel was long forgotten. On a hunch, I tuned in to DD News and there they were again. The anchor had changed of course but the reporting was similar and more importantly, it was genuine reporting. Dignified and peaceful. The viewer could actually watch the news.

    Sometimes the old ways are the best.

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  99. this is the best thing to remember those old golden days of my childhood with doordarshan watching television was a big thing in those days doordarshan was the only available indian channel in those days
    as i am living south corner of india tirunelveli sometimes i used to watch srilanka's rupavauhini programmes
    programmes like knight rider,street hawks and also english news.in doordarshan sukanya balakrishnan
    was my favourite newsreader she always use to wear mangal sutra in tamil its called thali those married
    womens wear it is rare seen among the newsreaders not only in those days also nowdays.she was very popular in tamilnadu she has two sons and her husband was high ranking government official
    now where is she? its hard to see her in television she is in facebook and also in google+ some of her photos and her family's photos are available.minu, rini khanna,kaveri mukherjee,tejeshwar singh,sunit tandon,neethi ravindran,usha alberqueque,in hindi version news shobhana jagdish,neelam sharma i thing neelam sharma started her career with dd in mid 90's and still hosting programmes.those time programmes,serials,news everything is better than todays programmes serial and news.if doordarshan start broadcasting those golden old serial then automatically the viewership will increase and people like those whoever more than 30+age again can get an opportunity to watch.anyway its a nice and very good attempt to recrate some old memories thankyou very much to all whoever support this blog and also thanks to the author of this blog

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  100. top to bottom...salute...them & You..blood shivering history of news, charm & personalities.

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  101. I used to be in love with Sarla (Joshi) Maheshwari, Komal GB Singh, Avinash Kaur Sarin, Shobhana Jagdish, Sadhna Srivastava, Rini Khanna and Geetanjali Aiyyar

    Tejeshwar, Prannoy, Pankaj Mohan, Preet KS, (all eng) Shammi Narang, Raman, Salma, all were amazing at their craft

    I hope I can get enough one day to arrange a grand get together for as many people as I can gather, to be telecast live !

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  102. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  103. Thanks a lot for this blog ... the more i read it , the more grateful I feel. I stumbled upon this blog while searching for Target. And here I am , reliving my childhood memories. Thanks again ! I cant tell you how happy it makes me. I always missed these newreaders for their quality. They were so good Minu , Kaveri Mukharjee , Usha .I used to listen to the English news and the hindi news just for these news readers. They had a class.

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    Replies
    1. Target, the magazine for teens? If yes, did you find it anywhere?

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  104. Thanks man brought back lot of memories

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  105. old memories is always give pleasant happiness ..... it gives tears in eyes but this tears have great value http://www.iplpointstable.com

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  106. hi..there ws one more guy vijay bhaskar reddy,,cn anybdy tell whr is he nw?

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  107. Sir, Can you please add the image of gorgeous smiley "Jasleen K Vohra" ?

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  108. Those were the Golden days of Our life when Doordarshan was the only channel we used to watch.
    Urdu Daily

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  109. Manjri Joshi and Jay Prakash

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  110. This was a walk down memory lane& I'm having a deja vu feeling. .. I remember one so poised news reader Mumtaj.. Can you post her pic too?

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  111. you forgot Sangeeta Bedi :) And Tabassum ...

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  112. You missed out Sarita Sethi, Shammi Narang. Then there is Arvind Mehra, Kumar Elawadi, Pradeep Bhide (Marathi)...
    Dharemendra Jain

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  113. That's not Luku Sanyal. That's Tabassum

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  114. Any contact of prabhujot kaur?

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  115. I am so glad I landed here.

    Thanks a lot!

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  116. yes - Before satellite TV took over DD particularly its New Readers charmed each and every Indian. To name a few may be injustice to others. Today DD storm completed 55 years. As I remember the Galaxy of News Readers - Rini Simon, Shammi Narang, Salma Sultan, Neethi Ravindran, Manjari Joshi, Komal GB Singh, Usha ALbuquerque, Ramu Damodaran, Sunit Tandon, Gitanjali Aiyar, Minu enthralled viewers with their neat appearance, perfect presentation. Given an opportunity I would like to see them all again on DD. May be a wishful thinking.... But what a great contribution by all these luminaries. A big thanks to them all and DD

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  117. we missed another great name ..Tabassum of Phoolkhile Hain Gulshan Gulshan... her charisma- her evergreen smile ...interviewing the well known bollywood celebrities.... :D

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  118. I wish to see more of Jyotsna Roy and Minu Talwar... also what about another beauty Manjari?

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  119. Dear Vinayak,Thanks for memorable memories...
    If possible please add Mr. Ramu Damodaran ... English News Reader.....He was blessed with awesome memory....
    उनकी मेमरी इतनी असाधारण थी की, मानो उन्हें सभी खबरे मुखोद्गत रहती थी ! वो कभीकभार ही ,निचे रखे गए पेपर में न्यूज़ देखा किया करते थे ! एक अंग्रेजी न्यूज़ एक अलग सी दाक्षिणात्य असेंट में सुनने का वो दौर असाधारण ही था !

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  120. Any idea who were the presenters of World of Sports that appeared on DD on Sunday afternoons?

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  121. YOU DID NOT INCLUDE DEEPAK VOHRA HE WAS CRAZE IN THOSE DAYS AND MR. JASDEV SINGH

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  122. Stumbled on this blog just now, while surfing for info on my favourite newsreaders.. I believe Ramu Damodaran was considered a child prodigy who later graduated to News and abruptly left DD. Where is he now, if you know? Also, where do I get some recordings/videoclips of the best among newsreaders from All India Radio - Melville de Mello, VM Chakrapani, Roshan Menon, Shurajit Sen, Lutika Ratnam, Sushil Jhaveri Pamela Singh, JV Raman and many more. pl dont say try AIR - they are of no help!! I found a few blogs which take you back almost 50 years to the vintage times of All India Radiio and DD India!! What joy!!

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  123. I saw this beautiful post on 11 Feb 2016. We had a TV since 1965, a time when there used to be only 1 hour program (from 6.30 to 7.30 pm) followed in the end by "Jan Gan Man Adhinaya jay hey". We were so greedy to see moving screens, that we all used to get up straight and even watch that 56 sec song completely. The program used to start with a ten minute monotonous whistle, when they showed only the AIR logo and there used to be a whistle. After 10 minutes it used to be followed by a different sound and logo and then the narrator appeared on the screen. I could recognize all faces especially Pratima Puri and Mukta Srivastava. Mukta used to read listener's letters while another male person (I am forgetting his name) used to answer. I missed Kewal Kumar who used to appear in a comedy program "Aisa bhi hota hai". Long after 1965 when we bought TV, there used to be a CHitrahaar every Wednesday, when they showed only 4 songs. This was liked by all and sundry very much and there used to be discussions on those 4 songs for the next week. The whole neighborhood used to come to our home for that one hour TV and I remember my mother cleaning the floor after they had gone, of all the pea nut shells which they used to spread

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  124. Delhi Metro annoumcements voices are Shammi and Renee simon khanna

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  125. Missing Siddhartha Basu in 'Quiz Time' in mid 80s.

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  126. Those days we felt that all dd news readers and announcers are part of our family , and we were watching them with affection, as those days broad cast in analog mode news reader voice realistic and unmatched to present audio compressed latest digital technology

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  127. One of the charming anchor was Sadhna Shrivastav





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  128. A great galaxy. Coming to Mr Tandon, it's "Suneel", not "Suneet", I think.

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  129. Narottam puri , I still remember because he he was the first to announce India's world cup victory on doordarshan and his announcement started with th the words India have done it . nostalgia comes up and up . A whole of the old generation still lives with those old memories with Door Darshan .

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  130. There was a programme on Ghazal sponsored by Polydor and was presented by Vinod. Any detail?

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  131. This very good informative article with visual, may have covered most of people of its field however few notable names
    seem left out.

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  132. But nowhere mention of Anjali Rai,Presenter.

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  133. They were far far better then today's news readers ,who are not good at news reading as well as bad over actors too.

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  134. Can anyone give names of Lucknow doordarshan programme of 70's. Very early ones.. Serials from Lucknow doordarshan exclusive

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  135. Hello Vinayak. You could find pictures of the readers/artists on facebook or request the archives to provide you the same. Will be nice for the fans to once again see their favoutites. R
    Regards

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  136. Nice collection. Please note that it is not KK Raina. That is Harish Awasthi.

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  137. I have enjoyed reading about all the news readers of DD. But I am trying to remember the surname of a male newsreader whose first name was Mark . Does anyone remember him??

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  138. Life is rewinding back 40 years and makes one feel young as then.

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  139. This is 2018, you must be older now mr. Razdan :)
    Well one more favorite show and it's presenter Adi Marzban - Aavo Mari Saathe (Bombay DD)

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    1. yup..definitely older but none the wiser :) Thanks for all the comments.

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  140. Thank you very much for this very interesting and nostalgic blog.

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  141. Also Quiz Master Siddhartha Basu, for Quiz Time
    siddhartha Kak (news and surabhi with rebuka shahane)

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  142. I would like to confirm if Dr Narottam Puri the tv sports anchor person visited United states in recent months?

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  143. Great to see all the old timers at one place. Lots of good memories attached with them. How professional and graceful they were during the infancy of Indian television! Less technology, more content defines those years, whereas it is the opposite for today!

    Congratulations on a highly informative post.

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