Friends
is
undoubtedly
one
of
the
most
popular
sitcoms
with
fans
globally
watching
it
multiple
times
and
referencing
in
their
daily
lives.
Meanwhile,
the
much-anticipated
Friends
reunion
special,
which
had
been
suspended
indefinitely
due
to
the
coronavirus-led
production
shutdown,
is
expected
to
be
completed
by
the
end
of
the
summer.
But
did
you
know,
the
iconic
show
was
once
adapted
in
Hindi
and
aired
on
Zee
TV
as
Hello
Friends.
It
starred
former
MTV
VJ’s
Cyrus
Broacha,
Maria
Goretti,
Nikhil
Chinapa
alongside
Simone
Singh,
Anil
Dimri,
and
Aparna
Bannerjee.
However,
Hello
Friends
failed
at
recreating
the
magic
of
the
original
show
and
was
pulled
off
the
air
by
the
network
after
only
26
episodes.
The
show
premiered
on
September
6,
1999,
and
concluded
on
February
20,
2000,
while
the
original
show
went
on
to
rule
hearts
and
the
rating
charts
for
many
more
years
to
come.
In
an
old
interview,
Hello
Friends
creator
Ajit
Pal
had
stated,
"They
are
the
idols
of
the
youth
who
are
a
readymade
audience
for
the
show.
The
jokes
are
very
Indian." For
the
unversed,
the
Hindi
show
ended
up
being
a
poor
attempt
at
emulating
the
success
of
its
American
counterpart
and
was
also
a
scene-to-scene
replica
of
the
original.
Hello
Friends
had
Cyrus
play
Chandler
Bing,
Maria
as
Phoebe
Buffay,
Nikhil
as
Ross
Geller,
Simone
as
Monica
Geller,
Anil
as
Joey
Tribbiani,
and
Aparna
as
Rachel
Green
who
would
all
hang
out
at
a
café
named
Uncle
Sam's
similar
to
Central
Perk.
The
episodes
of
the
Hindi
show
are
now
available
to
view
on
YouTube.