C.I.D.

Man, that show has been running for a long time. Thirteen years, to be precise: from 1998 to the present day. Sony TV has made a huge profit, so much so that they can't seem to stop airing it. Whenever you switch to Sony between 14.00 and 18.00 hours, it's always C.I.D. Fulltoo timepass.

C.I.D. is no stranger to awards. In 2004, it entered the Guinness Book of World Records for their episode "The Inheritance", which was filmed in one shot for 111 minutes without a single cut. One of their characters won the award for the best-looking guy on Indian television (crazy, right?). They also organised a grand function called the C.I.D. Gallantry Awards in 2010.

There is a certain fun in watching that serial. Like most Indian media, it's a 'leave-your-brains-at-home' thing. For how could seven officers investigate every case in Mumbai? Or how did they justify finding a laash in every episode, or never investigating anything apart from murders and kidnappings? Kuch to gadbad hai.

Inspite of all its faults, C.I.D. is a noteworthy attempt by director B.P. Singh, who has cleared both national and international records. And if you haven't watched it yet, there's no doubt you have never been in the vicinity of a television set.