Hitler Didi (transl.Hitler Sister but figuratively Auntie Hitler[1]) is an Indian soap opera that aired on Zee TV. It premiered on 7 November 2011. The story is located in the backdrop of Delhi.

Hitler Didi
GenreSoap opera
Written bySanjay Kumar
Ila Bedi Datta
Malavika Asthana
Satyam K. Tripathi
Directed byMohit Jha and Vikram Ghai
StarringRati Pandey
Sumit Vats
Theme music composerDony Hazarika
Opening themeSunidhi Chauhan
Country of originIndia
Original languageHindi
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes448
Production
Executive producersRajat Bedi
Manik Bedi
ProducersRohit Vaid
Ila Bedi Dutta
CinematographyHanif Sheikh
EditorManish Mistry
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time21 minutes
Production companyTrilogy krikos
Original release
NetworkZee TV
Release7 November 2011 (2011-11-07) –
2 August 2013 (2013-08-02)

Plot

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Indira Sharma, who is the sole breadwinner in her family, falls in love with Rishi Kumar. They both marry after facing so many obstacles. Indira was diagnosed with brain tumor and has 28 days to survive. So she tried her best to make her family members settle without her less span of time. She also fulfilled her remaining wishes within those days. While letting Rishi marry Shweta, her tumor bursts. It was revealed she was pregnant and Shweta hid Indira's pregnancy from everyone under the scolding of Rishi's mother. To repent her mistake, Shweta becomes to surrogate mother of Indira's child. She gives birth to Indira and Rishi's daughter, Indu.

8 years later

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Indira is shown to have died. Rishi takes care of Indu as a single father, living in Indira's house. Indu is just like Indira. Zara Khan, Indira's look-alike police officer enters. Indira's family forces Rishi to marry Zara. However, Indira is shown to be alive, having memory loss. Indu meets her and brings her back with Rishi's help. Zara kidnaps Indira. Rishi saves her and sends Zara to a mental asylum. After that a new character Kabir enters and it turns out he has a connection with Indira in some way. Indira constantly calls out to someone named Saheb it turns out Saheb is Kabir who has a connection with Indira from Pakistan in the past. But After some twists, Indira regains her memory and reunites with Rishi, Indu, and Her family. Zara returns and tries to create problems, but in vain. Finally, Indira gives birth to a son and Indu settles every Sharma men in their professions.

 
(from right) Rituraj Singh, Rati Pandey, Sonu Sood, Sheeba Chaddha and Sumit Vats, on the sets of Hitler Didi during the promotion of film Maximum (2012)

Cast

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Main

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  • Rati Pandey as
    • Indira Sharma Diwan Chandela – Inder and Kutumb's elder daughter; Munna, Vidhit, and Mandira's sister; Rishi's wife; Indu and Chiku's mother
    • Zaara Khan – Indira's lookalike; Ex-police officer; Malik's ex-wife
  • Sumit Vats as Rishikeshwar "Rishi" Diwan Chandela – Simi's younger son; Sameer's brother; Kulbhushan's cousin; Indira's husband; Indu and Chiku's father
  • Shruti Bisht as Indu Diwan Chandela – Indira and Rishi's daughter; Shweta's surrogate daughter; Chiku's sister; Ishaan and Seher's cousin
  • Rituraj Singh as
    • Inder Sharma – Dulari's brother; Kutumb's husband; Jhumpa's ex-husband; Munna, Vidhit, Indira and Mandira's father; Ishaan, Seher, Indu and Chiku's grandfather
    • Kala Diwan Chandela – Inder's lookalike; Jwaladevi's elder son; Kulbhushan's father

Recurring

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  • Sejal Shah as Kutumbh Sharma – Inder's wife; Munna, Vidhit, Indira, and Mandira's mother; Ishaan, Seher, Indu, and Chiku's grandmother
  • Aakash Pandey as Radhe – Neighbour at Chandni Chowk; Estate agent
  • Sandeep Baswana as Munna Sharma – Inder and Kutumb's elder son; Vidhit, Indira and Mandira's brother; Sunaina's husband; Savita's widower; Ishaan and Seher's father
  • Smita Singh as Sunaina Sharma – Munna's wife; Ishaan and Seher's mother
  • Gargi Sharma as Mandira Sharma Chaddha – Inder and Kutumb's younger daughter; Munna, Vidhit, and Indira's sister; Pappu's wife
  • Deepesh Bhan as Pappu Chaddha – Mandira's husband
  • Kapil Soni as Vidhit Sharma – Inder and Kutumb's younger son; Munna, Indira and Mandira's brother
  • Harsh Rajput as Ishaan Sharma – Munna and Sunaina's son; Seher's brother; Indu and Chiku's cousin
    • Rahul Pendkalkar as Child Ishaan Sharma
  • Divya Naaz as Seher Sharma – Munna and Sunaina's daughter; Ishaan's sister; Indu and Chiku's cousin
  • Aasiya Kazi as Dr. Shweta Kapoor – Indu's surrogate mother
  • Girish Jain as Dr. Jaswant Rai Singhania – Abha's husband; Sahil's father
  • Silky Khanna as Abha Singhania – Jaswant's wife; Sahil's mother (Dead)
  • Hardik Somnathwala as Sahil "Bheem" Singhania – Jaswant and Abha's son
  • Rahil Azam as Malik Khan – A terrorist; Meher's brother; Zaara's ex-husband[2]
  • Preeya Subba as Meher Khan – Malik's sister; Inder's ex-lover
  • Rohit Roy as Major Kabir Chaudhary / Saheb – Army officer; Noor's husband; Trisha's father
  • Dolly Sohi as Noor Khan Chaudhary – Khan's daughter; Kabir's wife; Trisha's mother
  • Unknown as Trisha "Babli" Chaudhary – Kabir and Noor's daughter
  • Vikram Sahu as Major Khan – ISI Chief; Noor's father
  • Abhinav Shukla as Inspector Sumer Singh Chaudhary – Indira's helper
  • Jasveer Kaur as Savita Sharma – Munna's second wife (Dead)
  • Sheeba Chaddha as Dulari Sharma – Inder's sister
  • Shabnam Sayed as Jhumpa Lahiri Sharma – Inder's ex-wife
  • Navneet Nishan as Simi Diwan Chandela – Sameer and Rishi's mother; Indu and Chiku's grandmother
  • Mrunal Jain as Sameer Diwan Chandela – Simi's elder son; Rishi's brother; Kulbhushan's cousin
  • Jaanvi Sangwan as Jwaladevi Diwan Chandela – Kala's mother; Kulbhushan, Sameer, and Rishi's grandmother; Indu and Chiku's great-grandmother
  • Pankaj Vishnu as Kulbhushan Diwan Chandela – Kala's son; Sameer and Rishi's cousin; Nanda's husband
  • Garima Bhardwaj as Nanda Diwan Chandela – Kulbhushan's wife
  • Neha Talwar as Sajni – A bar dancer (Dead)
  • Ravi Jhankal as RajRani – Owner of brothel
  • Moorti Persaud as Jaya
  • Ashwini Kalsekar as Advocate Rani Bhatija
  • Vikas Anand as Judge during Mandira Sharma Rape case
  • Sunita Rajwar as Jamuna Dhai
  • Saurabh Yadav as Saurabh Sumer
  • Nittin Sharma as Inspector Rudra "Vanraj" Pratap Singh
  • Ranjeet as Ranjeet Kukreja, Owner Kukreja Properties as Special Appearance From (Episodes 149 to 161)
  • Sonu Sood as Inspector Pratap Pandit as Special Appearance only in episode no 170
  • Asha Negi as Purvi Deshmukh Kirloskar

Reception

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Kshama Rao of The Indian Express gave the film 2 out of 5, writing, "While it's nice to see a primetime heroine crack the whip, the joy is short-lived as a large part of the show is unappealing. It looks half-baked in places — for instance, there was a scene between Rishi and an old woman who he sees on the neighbouring barsaati which we still haven't figured out!"[3]

In the United States, the Anti-Defamation League, a civil rights group, asked Zee TV's executives to remove "Hitler" from the show's title and to rename it with something "less offensive." A Zee TV spokesperson confirmed that the channel received the letter from the group but has yet to respond. She stated that the show's title has nothing to do with Hitler himself, but is intended to portray the girl's temperament. The spokeswoman claimed the show has not received any complaints from India over its name and declined to comment on whether they are considering changing it.[4] It was later renamed as General Didi in North America and Europe.[5] When the series started airing in the Arab world in 2014, the Anti-Defamation League again voiced their disappointment in a press release on the reemergence of Hitler's name in the series title.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Szalai, Georg (22 November 2011). "India's Zee TV to Change Name of Soap Opera 'Hitler Didi' After Anti-Defamation League Criticism". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 August 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2024. Hitler Didi, roughly translated as Auntie Hitler had attracted anger from the Anti-Defamation League.
  2. ^ "Rahil Azam to enter Hitler Didi". The Times of India. 12 September 2012.
  3. ^ Rao, Kshama (28 November 2011). "Hitler Didi". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  4. ^ Sahni, Diksha (30 November 2011). "Indian TV Show 'Hitler Didi' Angers U.S. Rights Group". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  5. ^ Rahman, Farah (6 September 2012). "A shop named Hitler". Mint. Hitler Didi is a Hindi television soap opera currently aired on Zee TV channel. I was astonished that one day last year the name of the show in the US was suddenly changed to General Didi even as the show continues to be aired as Hitler Didi in India.
  6. ^ "Decision by India's Zee TV to Broadcast Soap Opera with Hitler Title to Arab World "Unfortunate and Disturbing," ADL Says" (Press release). New York City: Anti-Defamation League. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
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