The Best TV Shows on DD National

Bharat Ek Khoj is a 53-episode Indian historical drama based on the book The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru, that dramatically unfolds the 5000 year history of India from its beginnings to the coming of independence in 1947. The drama was directed, written and produced by Shyam Benegal with cinematographer V. K. Murthy in 1988 for state-owned Doordarshan. Benegal's regular script collaborator Shama Zaidi also co-wrote the script.

Ramayan is a highly successful and phenomenally popular Indian epic television series created, written, and directed by Ramanand Sagar. The 78 episode series originally aired weekly on Doordarshan from 25 January 1987, to 31 July 1988, on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. IST. It is a television adaptation of the ancient Indian Hindu religious epic of the same name and is primarily based on Valmiki's Ramayan and Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas. It is also partly derived from portions of Kamban's Ramavataram and other works.

A dynastic struggle occurs for the throne of Hastinapur, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan, between the Kauravas and Pandavas, collateral branches of the clan, which causes the Kurukshetra War.

Indradhanush was an Indian children's television series, a mixture of Sci-Fiction and Fantasy, aired on DD National channel. The series aired on every Sundays, and was produced and directed by Anand Mahendra.

When darkness get strengthened to destroy the world, Suryanshis chose Shaktimaan in order to fight against the forces of evil.

Panaah is a Hindi drama television series dealing with female feoticide, that airs on DD National on every Tuesday at 9:30pm IST.

Yeh Zindagi Hai Gulshan is an Indian television drama series, which premiered on DD National on February 26, 2012. The series focuses on the concept of empowerment of women in muslim society. The series originally aired every once a week on Sunday but was converted to bi-weekly show due to popularity. The series is produced by Suhaib Ilyasi, director and the host of India's Most Wanted.

Faujji...The Iron Man is a Hindi language Indian television series that airs on the national channel, DD National. The series premiered on March 21, 2009, and airs every Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 pm IST. The story is about the army battling terrorism. On its first day, the series received a Television Rating Point of 1.7 among other shows on other general entertainment channels.

Ek Din Achanak is a Hindi language thriller television series that airs on DD National channel. The series premiered on February 21, 2009, and airs every Monday at 10:30pm IST. The series is produced by Percept Picture Company along with Harsh Cinevision Limited, and stars Salil Ankola & Neeta Shetty in the main lead. The story is based on a murder.

Udaan meaning is a popular Hindi TV serial that aired on the Indian Television channel DD National in 1989 - 91. The serial was written and directed by Kavita Choudhary who was also the main lead of the serial. It also starred Shekhar Kapur in a cameo. It was based on the struggle of a woman aspiring to be an IPS officer. It was probably the first Indian television show on women empowerment. The serial is inspired by true story of Kavita Choudhary's elder sister Kanchan Choudhary who after several hardships went to become the first female Director General of Police. The direction and performance of Kavita Choudhary were applauded and loved by the media and the public. It was so refreshing to see a lady IPS officer in Kavita Choudary's role that was not only humble, but also wanted to perform her work in letter and spirit by going to the public and placing the public's needs ahead of everything else, in the true spirit of a public servant. Also, as happens in the US and other countries, Kavita portrayed her role of as a friend and guardian of the public who the public should want to go to for help, not a policewoman that everyone should fear. In fact in several episodes of this serial, Kalyani Singh IPS chastens her constables and other police officers for speaking with the public in a rude manner. This was very refreshing. When the serial ran in the late 80s and early 90s, there were several suggestions by the public and the media that all police officers including IPS officers could benefit from viewing this serial and learning from it. The other point to be noted is that at the time this serial aired, it was not commonplace for women to seek to join the elite government services in India such as the IAS, IPS or the IFS. But this has since changed. As of 2010, the number of women joining the elite Indian government services, especially the IAS, has increased drastically compared to the 1980s and the 1990s. The entire "Udaan" TV series have now been released in India in DVD/VCD format by Reliance, and are available to be purchased by the public for a reasonable price. This TV series is very relevant to the day to day life in India and will inspire several generations of youth and women amongst others.

Tehkikaat is a Hindi language detective-thriller series about various crime scene investigations, starring Vijay Anand as Sam D'Silva and Saurabh Shukla as Gopichand. Released in May 1994, the series involved resolving mysteries and murders with a touch of humour to it. This became the second best detective serial after Byomkesh Bakshi which was also popular in its time. The serial was really popular because of Vijay Anand's really good acting as Sam D'Silva and the chemistry between Sam and Gopi, and he uses some really new and innovative instruments for his work, like in a episode he reveals that there are actually 7 bullets in his specially designed revolver.

Aaryamaan - Brahmaand Ka Yoddha is an Indian superhero space opera TV series that aired on Doordarshan's national network DD National. The sci-fi drama was produced under the banner of Bheeshm International by Mukesh Khanna, who had earlier created and donned the lead role in India's first television superhero Shaktimaan in 1997. It held the record of the most expensive Indian television drama ever for a short period.

Chunauti was a hit television series in India in the 1980s. This marked the debut of many actors, such as Suchitra Krishnamurthy & many others. Chunauti meaning Challenge was aired on Doordarshan in 22 episodes each about 25 minutes in Hindi.

Buniyaad is an Indian television drama-series that was directed by Ramesh Sippy and Jyoti Sarup. The series was written by Manohar Shyam Joshi and dealt with the Partition of India in 1947 and its aftermath. Buniyaad first aired in 1986 on the Indian state television channel DD National, which is owned and operated by Doordarshan network. It was re-aired on DD Metro in early 2000s. It has since been re-aired a number of times on various new Indian private television channels, such as Sahara One. From 25 July 2013, it will be re-aired on DD National every Thursday at 20:30 hrs. It was first aired on TV 27 years ago in 1986.

Kahan Gaye Woh Log is an Indian television series that aired on Doordarshan network's national channel, DD National in 1985. The series is based on the theme of Patriotism, and tells the story of people fighting for their nation, India, who have sacrificed their future for future of other Indians living in India. The title itself reflects the meaning i.e. 'Where are the Patriots?' A serial full of patriotism is said to have started the 'Golden Era' of Patriotic TV Serials. The serial received overwhelming response since the beginning. This serial was awarded 'Aadhaarshila Award' for Best Patriotic Serial which was given by of then Vice President of India Mr. Shankar Dayal Sharma. Manoj Kumar also played a major role in the success of this serial.

Swaabhimaan was an Indian afternoon soap opera aired in 1995, directed by Mahesh Bhatt, and scripted by Shobha De and Vinod Ranganath.

Meher is a Hindi television emotional thriller soap based on the story of a Muslim girl who fights for her own destiny. The drama-series is an Indo-Pak joint production by the collaboration of Pakistan. The show was first aired on DD National channel in India, but currently airs on Prime TV channel in Pakistan, and TV Asia channel in USA.

Kashmakash Zindagi Ki is an Indian TV series produced by Reasonable Advertising Limited, based on the story of an adopted girl who is hated by everyone in her new family except her father. The story portrays the sour relationships in a family. The series premiered on November 20, 2006, and stars Deepshikha in the maid lead as Aradhana. The series is one of the long-running television programme of DD National channel, which completed its 300 episodes in June 2008 & 500 episodes on March 20, 2009.

Bajega Band Baaja is an Indian comedy television series starring Swapnil Joshi and Ami Trivedi in lead roles. The show was aired on DD National. It started in 2009 and ended in 2010. The show received positive reviews from the audience and Swapnil Joshi was well appreciated for his work.

Daane Anaar Ke is a Hindi-language Indian television mini-series that aired on DD National channel.