Ratna Pathak Shah as Maya Sarabhai
Ratna Pathak Shah is one of the most versatile actresses in India and her characters across varied genres are proof of it. Be it playing a quintessential buaji in Lipstick Under My Burkha or being the hilarious grandmother in Khoobsurat, the actress has always been true to her characters. One of the most memorable roles she played on screen is Maya Sarabhai from Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. Being a snooty upper-class socialite, her constant jibes at daughter-in-law Monisha became the highlight of the show. Her catchphrase "It's so middle class!", still continues to tickle a funny bone.
As Ratna Pathak Shah turns a year older, here are some funny, hilarious and witty throwbacks from the show that prove Maya Sarabhai is the OG sass queen. Take a look:
The show directed and written by Aatish Kapadia aired from 2004 to 2006 and was based on the story of a dysfunctional family. Featuring Satish Shah and Ratna Pathak (as parents Indravadan and Maya Sarabhai), Rajesh Kumar (as Rosesh), Sumeet Raghavan and Rupali Ganguly (as the son and wife Sahil and Monisha Sarabhai), the show went on to become one the most hit comical daily soaps of its time. Given its popularity, a web show was introduced later.
When the show returned to TV during the lockdown, actress Ratna Pathak in an interview to Times of India said, "Of course, Maya Sarabhai it has to be her. Tauba I don’t relate to Monisha at all in real life. And in today’s time definitely with Maya Sarabhai. I remember when we started shooting for the show, I often asked our writer Aatish Kapadia, kya middle class ko itna lataadna zaruri hai... (do we need to be so cruel towards the middle class). Aren’t we too harsh on them and is it fair after all we all are middle class."
Wishing Ratna Pathak Shah a very happy birthday!
