Supriya Pathak@60: How Hansa stood out in the times of Tulsi, Parvati, Prerna

For those who have watched Indian television’s most successful sitcom, Khichdi, this line will bring in a lot of memories. While I write this, I can only imagine a bubbly and cute Supriya Pathak asking, “Hello, how are, khaana khaa ke jaana, haan”. The veteran actress is currently blazing a trail in the digital space. The audience can’t stop raving over her performance in SonyLIV’s Tabbar. It is probably the time when Pathak is getting to flex her acting muscles as female characters are more than just an accessory in the narrative of movies and web shows now. In her own words, she is getting “more interesting work than when I was a young girl.”

The veteran actor, who has been in the profession for almost four decades, had an illustrious 2021. Her films Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi, Mimi, Toofaan and Rashmi Rocket, made it to the OTT platforms and showcased her acting prowess. Despite several striking performances, for many millennials like me, the name Supriya Pathak will always be synonymous with her character Hansa Praful Parekh.

Hansa and Praful made for the perfect onscreen couple. (Express archive photo)

Pathak’s Hansa is among the most unforgettable television characters for all the 90s kids. It is a character who is as funny today as it was 19 years ago when we first met her along with her equally funny and adorable husband Praful on our TV sets. She laughed at Praful’s silliest of jokes, made a fuss if her bangles didn’t match her saree, and asked numerous questions about English words leaving ‘babuji’ exasperated and the audience amused. She was happy being nonchalant and oblivious to the stressful situations of life.

Supriya Pathak lived the character in a manner that even today it is difficult to dissociate her from it. Despite not being a quintessential TV bahu, she was a homemaker like no other on TV. While Tulsi and Parvati were busy dealing with one calamity after another in their onscreen lives, she dished out daily laughs. One couldn’t look away from her when she said, “Ayee Prafulll..” Just as much as the viewers were happy watching Hansa, even Pathak was the ‘happiest’ playing the character. “I love Hansa, yes I know she is foolish and we have worked her that way but I love enacting the role. I think I am happiest playing Hansa,” she said in an earlier interview.

Too bad that they do not create characters like Hansa anymore.

Now, as I go back to catching up on Hansa and her hilarious one-liners, I will leave you with an epic Hansa-Praful conversation that might make you revisit Khichdi right away (on Disney+ Hotstar, if you’re looking):

Hansa: “Aye Prafulll…Delicacy matlab?”

Praful: “Delicacy Hansaaaa. Hum jab Delhi gaye the toh tumne kya bola tha?”

Hansa: “Delhi dekh ke maine kya bola? Maine bola tha ‘yeh delhi kaisi jagah hai’..delhi kaisi…ohhh Delicacy!!”